


Metrical Justice

by Astroboy101



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crime Scenes, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Mental Instability, References to Drugs, Scylla has a hot job, Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:02:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27537259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astroboy101/pseuds/Astroboy101
Summary: Bellweather hospital is being investigated for the possible importation of illegal drugs.Scylla Ramshorn is the lead detective on the case. Working undercover, Scylla meets Raelle who happens to work at Bellweather hospitalWill Scylla solves the case and find love along the way?
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 59
Kudos: 187





	1. Bellweather Bender

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone  
> Not a fic writer so any mistakes or grammar screw ups is completely my own. Wrote this to keep my brain ticking over during the hard times and who doesn't love reading stuff relating to our OTP Raylla. I know I do :-)
> 
> I plan on updating regularly depending on how people respond to it. Hope you enjoy!!

It was a warm night with a subtle breeze drifting through the air. The Albany room at the grand hotel had been transformed into a majestic ballroom and its high ceilings and heritage distressed walls gave it a very lusty feel. 

The crystal chandeliers hung above scattered round tables that were draped with cultivar linen which fell softly on the freshly polished hardwood floors. 

The finest crystal glassware had been polished and the buffet table was full of the freshest delicacies from all the local markets. 

It was black tie and valet parking was working hard opening doors and extending a hand to welcome guests out of their luxury cars. Aston Martins, Mercedes, Porsche and Rolls Royce all pulled in one by one like a production line. The guests followed the aroma through to the lobby and settled there on the light refreshments

Guests where then ushered into the main room which was starting to fill with sounds of mingling conversations and random laughter as a man in a tuxedo played soft music on the piano. It was a relaxed atmosphere with a hint of arousal as everyone was glammed up in their finest attire and excited about the night ahead

Abigail Bellweather stood tall and poised as she held her glass of sparkling champagne in her freshly manicured hand and engaged in idle chat with fellow friends. It is the night of Salem town’s biggest fundraisers for her family’s new hospital and the illustrious were in attendance including the town mayor. The money raised from the night would be used to help fund new equipment and add additional resources to help run the research department.

Abigail had been appointed CEO of Bellweather hospital which is founded by her matriarch mother Petra so it was an expectation that Abigail mingle with the snobs of the medical world and keep up appearances. 

The bellweathers stunk of wealth and they lived in an Italian renaissance wood-panelled estate in a gateway of unparalled luxury. It sat on 10 acres of lush well-maintained gardens that was conveniently positioned on a high hill on the cusp of the town.   
Petra wanted to ensure they had prime position real estate so everyone in the community could see their wealth and power but many locals just considered it an eyesore and only saw the Bellweathers as a family of aristocrats.

*****

Scylla Ramshorn stood off to the side of the foyer at the grand hotel fiddling with a little device hidden in her ear 

“Porter, when are you going to fix this thing. Its making a buzzing noise” 

Porter responds into his comms from back at the police precinct “You were the one who insisted on wearing it Scylla before I finished testing it” 

Scylla works as a detective for the Salem police department. Her father was a detective for over 10 years and so it felt right for her to follow his footsteps. Scylla worked the streets for 3 years with Porter Tippet putting drug dealers behind bars and when Scylla helped take down a major cartel, she was promoted to detective not long after

Porter is the gadgets guy and also a computer whizz. Scylla and Porter have a very interesting relationship to say the least. Porter has been in love with Scylla ever since they slept together at a work Christmas party. They both had way too much to drink and one thing led to another. Scylla has already wiped it from her memory bank while Porter is not over it and keeps asking Scylla out for a date. He has been trying for 2 years and Scylla thinks Porter has more chance of bringing Abraham Lincoln back from the dead then getting a date with her

After an anonymous tip came through to the Salem police from someone who worked at Bellweather hospital about the possible importation of illegal drugs, Scylla was asked to be the lead detective on the case. Her boss Sargent Alder managed to pull some strings and get Scylla a job at the hospital working undercover which allowed her full access to staff and files

Scylla though, is an enigma. She has a fire in her belly and prefers to keep people at arm’s length.  
Scylla lost her parents at a young age and was forced to grow up quicker than your average 8-year-old. After her parents passing Scylla was placed in the care of Anacostia Quartermaine who at the time was their neighbour and also a retired army officer. Like Scylla, Anacostia had no other family so she was happy to take her in. With the trauma of losing her parents, Scylla naturally formed a protective shield over her heart and till this day, nobody has broken down that shield.

Anacostia and Scylla lived in the small town of Eureka falls, just outside the skirts of Salem town where the grassy hills and trees stood up like spikes, the rivers streamed through deep valleys and the houses looked like boxed rustic cabins. 

Once Scylla hit adolescence, Anacostia decided to move them to Salem town to give Scylla the best chance of getting a proper education as there were limited opportunities in Eureka Falls 

Scylla graduated at the top of her class with honours and decided to travel the world just to expand her wings. Her passport has many stamps and she has worked in many different countries, learning 10 different languages. She eventually decided to return to her roots and settle in a career with the police force

She isn’t interested in obtaining wealth and likes to live a carefree life. Scylla oozes confidence which is often misinterpreted as arrogance so she hasn’t made a lot of close friends or sustained any long-term relationships. She has had her fair share of casual flings but prefers to have no permanent attachments. She just finds it easier that way. 

She has developed a reputation back at the precinct as being a bit of a cougar. Not in the sense she is older and hot (even though she is hot) but more because she is known to attack when threatened. One night she put 6 large biker guys on their arses after one of them looked at her the wrong way. Even some of her male colleagues are afraid of her but she is damn good at her job

*******

The fund raiser was well underway with lots of schmoozing happening amongst the guests. It was an open bar with many opting to try the cocktail of the night which was called the Bellweather Bender. It was tonic water, crème de menthe, butterfly pea and a mystery ingredient that turned it a bright purple. It was finished off with crushed ice and a small stalk of mint. It was definitely a hit with the ladies

Lots of donations were coming in by many different high-profile medical companies across the world. MYCOR was the biggest sponsor for Bellweather donating millions of dollars to help them with market research. MYCOR are also the biggest supplier of medical equipment and drugs to Bellweather hospital and across the world 

*******

Also making the guest list is Raelle Collar. Raelle completed her undergraduate training at the university of Salem and finished with a bachelor of science and bachelor of medicine with honours. After graduating she decided to settle in Salem instead of travelling. Her mother Willa died not long after she started med school and she didn’t want to leave her father William on his own. Also, Raelle likes the simple life.

Raelle stood relaxed with a beer in her hand chatting with her good friend Tally Craven. Raelle met Tally in med school and they ended up graduating together. They were both lucky enough to be offered positions at Bellweather with Raelle looking after neurology and Tally the natal ward. 

Raelle has never been a fan of the Bellweathers. She tolerates them because she wants this job and they are essentially her boss but she has always seen them as rich pompous elitists. Also, the Bellweathers own the mill in Salem town where William worked for more than 20 years. Last year he was handed a small payout and was advised he was no longer required. That didn’t sit well with Raelle at all.

Raelle hates parties and hell will freeze over before you catch her in a dress so she opted to wear a simple black tailored suit which gave off a conservative yet feminine vibe with a flamboyant orange pocket piece. Her freshly washed blonde hair enhanced her heart shaped face and bright grey eyes. She also has several tight braids on one side running from her face towards the back of her head and the other side flowing nicely down and sitting softly on her shoulders. 

A brown-haired young man approaches Raelle and Tally and places his arms around their necks “How are my favourite ladies enjoying this fabulous party?” 

Raelle glares at him “Byron, where have you been?”

“Busy at the bar Raelle. I was chatting to a cute boy nurse” Byron says with coy smile

Byron makes up the 3 musketeers. He graduated med school at the same time as Raelle and Tally and the 3 of them became really good friends. Byron got offered a paediatrics position at Bellweather and is definitely too gay for his own good. He has had more boyfriends than Raelle or Tally can count but he is a really sweet guy which is why they keep him around. 

“When are you going to meet a nice girl Raelle?” Byron teases and Raelle rolls her eyes

Raelle knows Byron is right. It’s been a while since she has been with a girl but Raelle discovered very quickly that’s its sometimes easier to water the crops and walk away then try and spend too much time trying to grow a whole garden “Byron, I date. I am quite happy having no attachments” she says dismissively

Byron looks at her unconvinced “Raelle you need to stop picking up girls that just chew you up and spit you out. You need to find a nice girl. Look around. I am sure your future wife is right here tonight”

Raelle scoffs and takes a swig of her beer

“How do you know I am not the one doing the chewing and spitting Byron” 

Byron giggles and pulls Raelle closer “Your heart is not to be messed with Raelle. It’s a fragile thing that doesn’t like to get broken” 

Raelle scoffs again “This coming from someone who falls in love at least once a week” 

Byron doesn’t answer but is instead distracted by a cute boy walking past “Ah, catch up with you girls later” as he walks off to follow the random person

Raelle and Tally just shake their heads and laugh

******

Petra Bellweather stood confident in her V-neck long flowing green ball gown which was covered in tiny dimenties that sparkled each time it caught the light. She walks onto the stage accompanied by the Salem town mayor and lightly taps the microphone to draw in the attention of the guests. The piano stops playing as heads turn towards the stage ready to listen to the speeches.

Petra was first to talk “First of all, I wanted to welcome you all here tonight to help raise money for our new research department at Bellweather.” 

Pretty much straight away Raelle zones out. Anything Petra Bellweather had to say just translates across to Raelle as Blah Blah Blah. She wishes she could just grab Tally right at that moment and just hit the bar but it would be seen as rude if she was caught walking out of the room during the speeches. Especially considering this is her first big job and impressions matter when it comes to the Bellweathers. 

Raelle looks over towards Abigail not surprised with how she is google eyeing her mother on stage while she is making her speech and how they are so much alike it’s sad. 

Raelles eyes continue their journey around the room making sure not to lock onto to anyone for too long as that would be weird but just weighing up the kind of people she is going to be working with. There was large mixture of people at the fund raiser. Extraverts, introverts, youthful, middle aged, sociable and repressed but they all had one thing in common. They all worked for Petra Bellweather. 

Raelles gaze is suddenly pulled in the direction of a woman standing by the door at the back of the room. Raelles heart flutters and her body somehow synchronizes with her. She feels her senses heightened which might have something to do with her being absolutely stunning. Raelle can’t seem to look away and is now fully aware that her lingering has gone way past what would be considered appropriate but she can’t bring herself to look away 

This woman was wearing a one-shoulder wine coloured dress that fell softly just above her knees and was partnered with some long hanging sterling silver earrings. She had a soft hint of matching coloured lip gloss which accentuated her blossom soft lips. This girl oozed confidence and to Raelle she had always found confidence to be sexy as fuck. She had chestnut shoulder length hair that flowed over her shoulders and a small dainty nose which complimented what looked like lagoon blue eyes. She couldn’t tell from the distance but they definitely stood out.

Raelle is frozen like a statue and completely enchanted and drawn in by the brunette and how she exuded so much credence and eloquence 

Then without warning, the mystery brunettes gaze shifts and collides directly with Raelles 

Raelle wants to look away because it’s the polite thing to do but she can’t. This girl is looking right at her, almost directly through her. Raelle has spent a lot of time building a barrier around herself that’s protected by sarcasm and wit. When her mum died Raelle refused to let herself be hurt like that ever again so for someone to threaten that barrier and cause it to even crack in the slightest is scary for her

The brunette smiles at Raelle and then she looks back at the stage. Raelle reluctantly does the same.

Raelle has never been knocked off her axis before by anyone. Until now. It’s not an unpleasant feeling. Not at all. It’s nice actually. Raelle wanted more. Raelle needed more. She turns to look back at the woman again but she is gone. 

After the formalities wrap up the guests find themselves more relaxed. A few choosing to dance while others seek comfort on the couches for their tired feet. The bar was the busiest place of course especially when drinks are free 

Raelle and Tally hung out by the bar for the rest of the night while Raelle kept an eye out for her mystery brunette. Unfortunately for Raelle, she didn’t see her again that night.


	2. Red Fairy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys
> 
> Thanks for reading. Enjoy the next chapter :-)

Shoulders hunched against the damp cool air on the first Monday morning following the fund raiser. It was chaotic as ambulances pulled in and out of emergency offloading patients, doctors and nurses were doing their rounds, attendants were cleaning floors and surfaces and tradesman were doing electrical work and painting. The atmosphere was that of a typical hospital with sliding doors opening and shutting, screams, cries and moans coming from the patient wards, clacking keyboards from the reception desk and the scents of pine, lemon and bleach lingering through the corridors.

Raelles first day was anything but easy. She looked at her 12-hour day week and couldn’t help but curse at how tired she already felt and how by the end of the week she was going to be completely rooted. She was mentally prepared to work hard but also promised herself to have regular coffee catch ups with Tally and Byron and try and sneak in some power naps if and when required. 

Her first task however was to try and find out who the mystery brunette was she saw at the fund raiser. She asked around the hospital and found it strange that nobody knew who she was. It wasn’t until Byron pulled a favour with one of the admin nurses he was sleeping with that Raelle got a copy of her file. The file didn’t provide a lot of information other than a name, photo and a single page on work history which wasn’t really that interesting 

Scylla Ramshorn – Inventory management  
Raelle looked at her photo and smiled, then closed the file. 

Throughout the week Raelle hadn’t once seen Scylla and that wasn’t without trying. She would find any excuse to leave the neurology department which took up the entire 2nd floor just to try and “fake” bump into the blue eyed brunette. 

She collected the mail from reception, grabbed many coffees from the cafeteria (ignoring the judgemental looks from the ladies who served her) or just casually stretched her legs. Raelle was getting frustrated that she hadn’t seen her and if it wasn’t for the moment they shared at the fund raiser where Raelle was convinced their souls collided, she would have thought she was a figment of her imagination. 

The week came and went and to Raelle it was a bit of a blur. It was Friday morning and Raelle felt as she predicted she would, which was like shit. She felt like she had been picked up by a tornado, thrown around in the air and slammed to the ground like a rag doll. 

The only saving grace was tonight. Earlier in the week, Abigail sent out invites for work welcome drinks and even though Raelle wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed and never wake up, she was excited at the possibility of seeing Scylla again. So Raelle was going to make sure she was there rain, hail or shine. 

*****

As daylight began to drain away and the streets were turned into velvety darkness, the popular strip of Salem town known as 123 street was lined with locals. 123 street was known as THE social scene and every Friday and Saturday night the bars and clubs would spill out drunken teens in the early hours of the morning. 

The red fairy was one of the popular spots that served brunches and dinners for the older crowds during the day and attracting the younger crowds at night for cocktails and dancing. Raelle and Tally arrived together just after 7pm. It was a fancy looking place with tabletops laced with black marble and dark oak furnishings which gave a very intimate undertone. It was complimented with ruby red couches and pendant lighting. 

Raelle had some fluttering happening in her lower belly as they walked through the french style archway leading through to the private room that Abigail had booked for the hospital crew. 

Raelles spotted Scylla straight away and she looked amazing. Standing relaxed in her black jeans, tucked in button up shirt and grey blazer. She stood confidently with a glass of wine as she chatted with colleagues 

Raelle was suddenly nervous so she grabbed Tally and they headed for the bar. If she was going to contemplate talking to Scylla, she needed some liquid courage. 

Raelle has never been nervous talking to women before but for some reason Scylla made her feel like an out of control car. Raelle has had her fair share of woman and one-night rendezvous’s and it’s usually Raelle leaving straight after with no desire to see them again. For some reason though, Raelle can’t help but feel Scylla could be different. 

The 3 musketeers, Raelle, Tally and Byron were drinking and laughing at a stand-up table when Tally noticed Raelle hadn’t taken her eyes off Scylla. 

“You look like a stalker Raelle” Tally smiles and nudging Raelle out of her trance

Snapping out of her reverie, Raelle grabs her glass of whiskey and gulps the last bit of liquid down 

“Raelle, just go talk to her” 

Raelle sighs but realises Tally is right. She has been staring at Scylla since they arrived and its probably starting to look creepy. Scylla is so god damn gorgeous and Raelle is a bit of a train wreck. 

Raelle swirls the melting ice cubes around her empty glass and notices Scylla at the bar. “I am going to get another drink Tal, you want anything?”

Tally shakes her head

Raelle heads to the bar and stands next to Scylla who is waiting patiently for some service. “What are you drinking?” Raelle asks with a small smile

Scylla stiffens, her eyes almost guarded as they graze over Raelles face

Raelle knew Scylla was gorgeous but being this close to her and looking into her eyes with only centimetres between them had definitely increased the stakes. Up close her eyes were at least 2 shades lighter and they carried a sense of mystery. Raelle was captivated

Scylla replies “Just a tonic with lemon. You don’t…” 

Raelle calls over the bar tender “Another tonic with lemon and a whiskey straight please”

Scylla cocks her head curiously at Raelle “Thank you” 

“You’re welcome”

Raelle extends a shaky hand to Scylla “I’m Raelle”

Scylla shakes back “I’m Scylla” 

******

Raelle can’t remember how they ended up outside in the beer garden but they did.  
It was a still night with windless warmth and the beer garden was covered in fairy lights complimented with foliage that was lined with creeping vines and redgum. It was a relaxing atmosphere with a hint of smouldering porterhouse in the air 

They sat on two large redgum stumps which were carved into seats and soft music played from the speakers. Raelle clamped her hand tight around her whiskey glass to try and calm her nerves. Scylla was mesmerizing and the current pull Raelle was feeling was derailing her quickly. 

After her mum died, Raelle had a lot of issues with anxiety and one of the coping mechanisms she learnt was object therapy. Finding an object and focusing your energy and anxiety into that object. Thank god she had her glass of whiskey  
Raelle had so much she wanted to say to Scylla but her mind was blank. Lucky for her, Scylla eventually broke the silence

“So Raelle, have you always lived in Salem?

Raelles eyes move from her glass to Scylla “Born and bred”  
Raelle shifts in her seat a bit embarrassed how her drawl came out unintentionally thick

“What about you?” Raelle asks

Scylla tightens her lips and small smiles escapes “I haven’t always lived in Salem no. I moved around a lot. Life got complicated when I was younger so I decided to travel the world instead.” 

Raelle takes a sip of her whiskey and feels herself start to relax “What made you come back?” 

“I just felt it was the right time” Scyllas eyes leave Raelles and they drop to the table

Raelle quickly senses that Scylla is perhaps guarded. She obviously has a story but its not a story to be told unless Scylla felt comfortable to tell it. Raelle didn’t want to push so she keeps the conversation neutral and it seems to flow easily after that

Sometime later after a few whiskeys and tonics and general chit chat a member of staff politely interrupts them advising they would be closing in 20 mins. They both look at their watches and are surprised at where the time had gone. Tally left a while ago to meet up with her boyfriend Gerit and Byron picked up a young artist and disappeared into the night. Raelle and Scylla were the only ones left from the hospital crew. 

Raelle looks at Scylla pondering for a moment, her mind ticking over before making a decision

“Um, this is really random and a little out of my comfort zone with someone I just met, but”

Scyllas lipped twitched and her eyes sparkled 

Raelle stands up and extends a hand to Scylla.

“One dance” 

Scyllas eyes were fire in water if you can imagine such a thing. There was intrigue in her baby blues and she sat idle over whether or not to reach out and grab Raelles hand. Scylla pushed the tip of her tongue between her teeth, a nervous twitch she has when she doesn’t know what to say. It’s something she has been doing since she was young girl

After a short silence Scylla reaches her hand out and grabs Raelles. Raelle leads her over to a spot in the garden as “chasing cars” by Snow Patrol played through the speakers 

Raelle gently pulls Scylla in close to her, her heart racing. She places her right hand gently on Scylla’s hip as the brunette places her cheek softly against Raelles. Scyllas left hand finds home on Raelles shoulder. They begin to slowly move together. There is a warmth between them which seems to growing by the second. 

Raelle allows herself to close her eyes as she breathes in a hint of Scyllas shampoo which is cedarwood and strawberries. 

Raelle has never met anyone that has made her feel so many things all at the same time. Its exciting. Its scary. Its nice. Scylla is nice. She is beautiful. Raelle wants this moment to last a lifetime. The feeling of being safe and content. Its strange because they just met. 

They danced for what could have been hours but is only merely minutes. They slow to a stop and slowly pull apart. Raelles whole body tingles. Caught in a hypnotic gaze. Lips ghosting Scyllas. Raelle moves forward slowly fully intending for her lips to capture Scyllas when Scylla pulls back

Scyllas gaze drops “Its late and I should go” 

Raelle releases the breath she was holding right before she was about to kiss Scylla and rubs her chin “Oh, ok, sure, no problems” 

The awkward air is instant. They grab their things and walk out of the bar 

Scylla waves down a cab and can’t get into it quick enough

“I will see Monday at work Raelle. Thank you for the dance and the lovely company” 

Rubbing the back of her neck, Raelle just stands there wondering what just happened. When did everything just turn upside down. 

Raelle hails a cab for herself and gets in. On the drive back home Raelle replays everything in her head. The flirting, the eye sex, their near kiss, the way Scyllas touch made her feel more alive in the last few hours than she has in her whole life. Her mind was fuzzy and her head hurt. Nothing was making sense and she was too tired to process it all now. Right now, all Raelle wanted was her bed 

*****

The air was crisp and it was early Monday morning. Abigail grabs Scylla’s arm as she passes her in the corridor. “Can I have a word Scylla please?”

Scylla clenches her jaw “Um, I haven’t got my coffee yet but sure” 

Abigail motions her to move into one of the vacant rooms and closes the door.

Abigail crosses her arm and stands tall “How is the investigation going on my mother?”  
Scylla straightens “It’s going” 

Scylla has never liked Abigail or the Bellweathers for that matter but she was forced by her department to work closely with her after Abigail approached the Salem police 2 months ago with a tip off. It was information about her mother’s possible involvement in illegal activity. At the time Abigail had enough for the police to open a case but not enough to arrest anyone. 

Despite popular belief, Abigail has never really been close to her mother. Abigail had always felt that Petra cared more about her company and their family image than her own daughters happiness. Throughout Abigails schooling years, she felt the pressures of being a Bellweather and her grades were always under the microscope. Anything less than an A+ was considered in Petra’s eyes as a fail and Abigail would have to hear about it for months after. One-year Abigail got so desperate to pass that she paid some senior students to steal the exams so she could cheat. Not her finest moment but it was worth it when she got a small smile from her mother and no lecture  
Abigail started becoming suspicious of her mother when she noticed all the secret meetings behind closed doors that kept happening late at night and sometimes during the night. 

Strange people kept coming to the house and one-night Abigail decided to break into her mother’s office that she was strictly barred from entering. She came across information about a company called MYCOR and some well-hidden documents. She decided to take copies and do some research. Things weren’t adding up and after some time, Abigail decided to take her case to the Salem police department but on the condition she remained anonymous

“Well I want an update” Abigail barks back

Scylla gives Abigail hard eyes “How about you do your job and you leave the detective work to me” 

Scylla storms out of the room slamming the door behind her

******

Scylla was riled up. No coffee and an Abigail confrontation is not something she expected at 5am on a frosty Monday morning. On a mission, Scylla burns around the corner and barrels into someone

** OOOF **

Scyllas eyes widen “Raelle” 

In an instant, they are both transported back to the other night where things suddenly became awkward. 

Raelle softens “Hey Scylla” 

Scyllas just stares at Raelle with a blank face “sorry I… I didn’t mean to ….”

“That’s ok, everything alright?” Raelle asks 

“Yes, everything is fine. I better go” 

Scylla starts to walk away but Raelle grabs Scyllas wrist. Scyllas eyes drop straight to where Raelle is holding her wrist and Raelle drops it quickly feeling like she over stepped 

“Sorry, I just wanted to know if you wanted to get a coffee with me sometime?

Scylla turns around to face Raelle trying really hard to not show any kind of emotion

“Look Raelle, I am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression the other night. I mean you’re absolutely gorgeous and sweet but I am just not looking to date anyone right now. I am really sorry.”

Raelles whole body suddenly felt heavy. Like she just had cement poured over her. 

She rubs the back of her neck “Um, sure yeah of course. Sorry Scylla. No problems” 

Raelle starts to walk away in one direction and Scylla the other. 

Raelle starts to question whether she completely misinterpreted the whole situation the other night with Scylla. How could she have read it so wrong? She could have sworn there was something there between them but right now she felt, well, completely deflated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the kudos and comments. Its always appreciated :-)


	3. Maritime Whiskey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter guys... Enjoy :-))

It was 9pm and Scylla sat comfortably on her sofa in her small refurbished home analysing data for the Bellweather case. She had her laptop sitting on her legs and a pile of files next to her. 

She lived in a vibrant home located east of Salem which was a pleasant 10-minute drive from the precinct. It was a two-bedroom house that she lived in alone that she purchased when she decided to move back to Salem. She liked the privacy and the quiet.

Scylla still didn’t have any solid leads on the Bellweather case and if she didn’t find anything soon, the case would be dead in the water. She scanned through the files to look for any inconsistencies in the data but everything was a dead end. She spent over an hour googling all the Bellweather medical suppliers including MYCOR as well as their CEO Owen Hunt, it all coming back clean. 

She sighed and took a sip of her coffee, wincing at the fact it had gone cold. She got off the couch and grabbed a bottle of whiskey taking a swig and indulging in the feeling of the potent liquid gliding down her throat.

She stood with the whiskey bottle in her hand staring into nothing. Completely lost in her own thoughts. Thoughts about the case, thoughts of Raelle, thoughts of her parents… She tried to rest her eyes until her phone started buzzing 

She looked at the caller and rolled her eyes when she saw it was Alder

Scylla didn’t dislike Alder, quite the contrary. They actually got along really well when she wasn’t breaking Scyllas balls. 

“Hello, Sargent Alder”

“Hello Scylla”

“Sorry its late but I wanted to know how things are going with the Bellweather case?”

“The case is tracking slowly Sarg. So far there are no leads. I’ve taken a look at the data and there are no inconsistencies that I have found so far”

“Hmmm ok, keep digging Scylla. I am sure something will come up. Also, get some sleep. That’s an order detective. Speak tomorrow”

Scylla hung up the phone and yawned. She headed back to the couch and grabbed her laptop again. She glared at the screen and decided to google Raelle Collar. The search found a few articles about Raelles university graduation and when she played lacrosse in high school. 

Scylla clicked on the graduation article and scrolled through stopping at the picture of Raelle in her graduation garb standing with friends. She had a huge smile on her face and she was glowing with pride. Scylla couldn’t help but smile. She studied the picture for a moment and then her smile faded. She placed the screen of the laptop down, grabbed her keys and her jacket and headed out the door

*****

The silver moon hung low above the city and Scylla sat wrapped in her warm jacket as her breath billowed across the still cold air in front of her. She was down at the Maritime docks where all the cargo incoming into Salem landed. 

The cargo would arrive and be forwarded and distributed to the proper landing ports for collection from freight carriers. The cargo would then be loaded into the carriers and transferred to the appropriate receivers. 

She sat hidden at dock 23 which was where all the cargo for medical supplies got booked in. She looked through her binoculars at the warehouse and watched the operations team work to unload and unpack cargo. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary

She started to shiver so she rubbed her hands up and down her arms to try and warm up. Her mind drifted to Raelle wondering if she was tucked into her warm bed and safe. Scylla thought about how maybe in a different life where she wasn’t an undercover cop that things could be different with Raelle 

A large white truck pulled into the loading bay pulling her out of her thoughts. The truck had large signage on the side displaying ARC Office supplies. 

“That’s weird” Scylla said under her breath as she took another look through her binoculars

What the hell is a truck for office supplies doing down here at the dock for medical supplies.

There was more movement now with forklifts moving around and workers helping to unload and reload. Everything still looked normal except for that truck. That was definitely out of place.  
About 30 minutes later, the white truck was fully loaded and ready to pull out of the loading bay. Scylla rushed back to her car with plans to follow it. 

The streets were fairly quiet with most people tucked away into their homes. The only street traffic was the usual night workers or delivery drivers. Scylla kept her distance as she followed the truck inconspicuously. 

The truck travelled for about a kilometre up the main street of Salem and then turned off onto another road. Scylla continued to follow it trying to keep a reasonable distance until the truck turned off again into a side road. 

Scylla kept following for a good 10 minutes along a single lane dirt road that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. There were no street lights and visibility was poor. There were no buildings or housing and the surrounding area was dead black 

Eventually the truck pulled into a warehouse as Scylla pulled her car over to the side and out of view.  
She got out of the car and made her way down to the perimeter of the fence. The outer perimeter was also poorly lit and the only visibility was coming from filtered light from inside the warehouse. Scylla had no idea what she was stepping on but if she had to guess it felt like swamp land. 

She jogged around the fence line looking for a way in and found a small opening. She squeezed through, got to her feet and jogged across to the side of the warehouse. She followed it around nervously trying to keep the noise her shoes were making on the loose gravel to a minimum. She found a window and peered in. 

She watched as pallets of stock were removed with a forklift out of the white truck and taken to another location in the warehouse. 

Scylla couldn’t help but feel something was definitely off. It didn’t make sense. Why would cargo be moved to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It was regulation for medical supplies to be transferred straight to the hospitals to avoid tampering and contamination so this was completely unethical. 

After everything was offloaded, the workers then began reloading different pallets of stock back onto the truck. Once the truck had finished being loaded, right before her eyes, Scylla saw something she couldn’t believe she was seeing 

She watched as workers peeled away the large ARC office supply sign from the side of the truck revealing under it, a different sign… MYCOR

“Son of a bitch” Scylla said under her breath

The faint sound of barking dogs could be heard in the distance so Scylla decided to get the hell out of there. She ran back to her car and drove away back to Salem 

*****

The next morning at the precinct, Scylla, Porter and Alder discussed Scyllas findings. 

Alder raised her eyebrows “They changed their signage?” 

Scylla nodded “I think that’s how the drugs are being smuggled in. I think the drugs are concealed in the cargo that’s on the manifest as office supplies. The drugs arrive at the dock, they load them onto the truck and transfer them to this warehouse. They then reload the truck with medical supplies and change the sign to MYCOR” 

Porter smiled “That’s pretty smart” 

Scylla shot him an unimpressed look 

Alder scratched her chin deep in thought “Ok so we assume that’s the HOW. We need to find out the WHO. Who is the one pulling the strings? We don’t have enough to get a warrant Scylla. We only have assumptions right now. We need more”

“What do you mean we need more. I saw it with my own eyes” Scylla said sharply

“Scylla, MYCOR are a reputable company and if we are going to catch a big shark like this we need something more solid. No mistakes. Keep me posted”

Alder stood up and walked out of the meeting room

Scylla tapped the end of her pen on the table and looked at Porter

“There is a cocktail party tomorrow night and all the big players of the medical world will be there including MYCOR. It might be a good chance to get some intel?” 

“Need a date?” Porter offered

Scylla rolled her eyes “No, I work better alone. I plan on breaking into Owen Hunts room though. That could be fun. Care to help?” 

“Who is Owen Hunt?” Porter asked inquisitively

Scylla turned her laptop around to show Porter a photo of Owen 

“Owen Hunt is the CEO of MYCOR and I assume he will be staying at the hotel the night of the cocktail party. I plan on breaking into his room and copying everything off his computer” 

“Don’t we need a warrant for that” Porter asked

Scylla sighed “Porter, enough with the questions. Just be the tech guy ok. I need you to find a way to get me into his room. I will keep digging but for now I need to get to the hospital” 

Scylla stood up to leave but stopped and looked at Porter “keep this between us yeah”

Porter nodded

*****

Raelle stopped outside Abigail’s office after being summoned by a voicemail that was left on her desk phone. She took a deep breath and knocked. A faint reply could be heard from the other side of the door for her to enter. 

Raelle walked in and closed the door behind her.

“Hi Raelle, please take a seat”

Raelle sat down on the chair in front of Abigail’s desk and had a look around. Abigail’s office was massive. The walls were painted grey with stencilling obviously done by an artist and there was floor to ceiling windows with a view of the whole city that beamed light right through her office. There was a large oak book shelf full of books and a green couch that was bigger than Raelles bed. Her desk was uncluttered and made of black marble in the shape of a weird looking U. On it sat an Apple MAC computer, a strange looking ornament and a few framed photos.

Raelle focused her eyes back on Abigail “Um, you wanted to see me” 

Abigail handed Raelle an invitation

Raelle took the invitation and looked at it “What’s this?” 

Abigail stood from her desk and walked around so was next to Raelle. She sat on the corner of her desk and crossed her arms 

“I need a favour. Actually, it’s not so much a favour but more a request. I need you to attend this party tomorrow night. I need someone to represent Bellweather hospital”

She looked up at Abigail “Um, ok sure. I can go. Why?”

“Well, we have a lot of important partners that will be attending and one of them is MYCOR who is our biggest sponsor. I need someone to welcome them, make them feel, you know, loved”

“Ok, why aren’t you going?” Raelle said firmly

Abigail stood up and walked back behind her desk 

“I can’t attend as I will be on a flight this afternoon to attend a meeting in Houston” 

Raelle looked at the invite again “Ok, no problems. Is that all?” 

Abigail nodded

Raelle stood up from the chair and started to walk towards the door. 

“Raelle, thank you” Abigail smiled

Raelles mouth curled up into a half smile as she left the office

***** 

Scylla knocked on Abigail’s door and waited for the ok to enter. 

Scylla walked in and looked around. A smirk formed as her eyes eventually land on Abigail

“Now I can see how the better half lives. I think I can fit my entire apartment in here”

Abigail scowled “What it is Scylla”

Scyllas smirk disappeared as she picked up an ornament from Abigail’s desk and looked at it strangely “I need you to get me on the list for the cocktail party tomorrow night” 

Abigail quirked an eyebrow “Why?”

Scylla stood confidently and placed the ornament down “I may have a lead and I need to be at that party to follow it up” 

Abigail stands up out of her chair “What lead?

“You’re on a need to know basis Abigail” Scylla stated 

Abigail scoffed leaning her hands on her desk whilst keeping her eyes on Scylla “Ok, fine. I will get you an invite” 

Scylla nodded “Thank you” 

“Scylla, let me remind you that I came to you with this information and this whole case is about my family. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t keep me in the dark so much” 

Scylla turned around and looked at Abigail, gave her a small nod and walked out of her office

******

Scylla arrived at the cocktail party dressed in a long black satin cocktail dress with a thigh high slit down the side of one leg. She handed off her invitation and marked her attendance at the registration table.  
She entered the mahogany room which was completely decked out with lots of marketing and company advertising from sponsors all over the world. There were 4 large screens that hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room. A MYCOR video ran on a loop with their CEO Owen Hunt talking although the sound was down. There were food waiters already serving light refreshments in the form of canapé’s and drink waiters carrying beer, wine and soft drink. 

Scylla grabbed a wine and looked around for Owen Hunt. She spotted him engaged in conversation with another guest 

Scylla gently pushed on her ear piece “Porter, you there” 

“I’m here Scylla”

“Owen is busy so I am heading up now. Standby”

She sculled her wine and made a move to head up to Owens room 

The elevator stopped on the 20th floor of the hotel and Scylla walked out into the hall. She followed the signage towards room 201(owens room) and stopped by a laundry trolley that was sitting against the wall in the hall. Checking there were no prying eyes she reached into the trolley and grabbed a small bag. She arrived at Owen’s room and took out the room key from the bag she collected. 

Thankfully the door blinked green and she pushed inside. 

“Porter I am in…What do I do?”

“Ok, find his laptop first”

Scylla looked around the room for the laptop. After checking room and after room she eventually found it under the bed.

“Found it Porter”

“Ok, using the small screwdriver from the bag I gave you, remove the panel on the back of the laptop”

Scylla as quickly and carefully as possible unscrewed the panel “Ok, done, what next Porter?” 

“Ok, remove the HDD from the laptop and unplug the cable”

Scylla did as instructed “Done, what now” 

“The red cable in the bag, plug that into the laptop HDD and then the other end of the cable into the portable drive that’s in the bag” 

“Ok, Porter its connected. Now what”

“Leave the rest to me. When the light turns green it’s done”

Scylla waited as files moved across from the laptop to the portable HDD. The small light on the drive changed from red to green “It’s done Porter”

“ok, pack everything back and get out of there” 

Scylla placed everything back where she found it and left the room. She dropped the bag back into the laundry trolley and made her way back down to the party completely unaware that Raelle had just arrived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any feedback is welcome. Good or bad :-))


	4. The bullpen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys
> 
> Hope you guys are still enjoying. If not, don't be afraid to say so... :-)

The second Raelle climbed out of the cab in front of the Ridges hotel, she regretted saying yes to Abigail to attend a boring work function. The main reason she agreed was to try and temporarily distract herself from thinking of a certain brunette that had eyes that could recreate life. The other reason was the free alcohol which Raelle thought was a small payoff for the slow death she was about to endure

Raelle arrived fashionably late which was part of her plan. She wandered through the lobby in her black suede suit which she had to pull from the bottom of her closest at the last minute. She hadn’t worn it since her graduation after party from med school and surprisingly it still fit. 

She attached her fake smile, handed over her invitation, took a deep breath and walked into the Mahogany room. 

She snatched a beer from a passing waiter and tried hard to just blend in with the furniture. She really wasn’t in any mood to engage in any kind of intellectual conversation but before she knew it she was being tapped on the shoulder by Meghan Wood who was the chief financial officer of eyesores. 

Eyesores specialised in prosthetics for eyes. In other words, they made fake eyeballs for people who lost their real eye(s). Raelle smiled and nodded her way through the conversation until she felt the small hairs on the back of her neck prickle on her skin. 

Raelle sensed someone was watching her, so she discreetly glanced around the room until she spotted Scylla who was looking directly at her and smiling 

Raelle returned the other girls smile and could instantly feel the warmth radiating off the brunette’s body from across the room. She felt a collision of senses all at once. She politely excused herself and made her journey towards Scylla

Raelle approached Scylla catching sight of her nervous smile. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight” the blonde remarked 

“It was kind of a last minute thing” Scylla tried to brush it off because every time she had to lie to the blonde she would feel a nasty ping deep in her chest. She liked Raelle and felt a connection to her. Probably more than she should but she couldn’t help it. Raelle was gorgeous. 

“You look beautiful by the way” Raelle blurted out

“Thank you. You scrub up nicely too Dr Collar” 

After an hour of mingling and boring conversations, Raelle and Scylla slide out undetected and walked out of the hotel 

“Would you like to go for a walk? It’s a nice night” Raelle asked

Scyllas gut feeling was to say yes. She was definitely attracted to the blonde and the fact she smelled like fairy bread on a warm night at the local fair didn’t help at all.  
Scylla also felt an obligation to her job and follow up on what had been found on Owen’s HDD. She wasn’t ready to give into temptation. Or was she.

“Sure, a walk sounds nice” 

******

The ridges hotel sat in the heart of Salem on a popular and busy strip of town. Raelle and Scylla walked slowly along the foreshore. One side was crammed with restaurants, ice-cream shops, boutiques and bars all filled to the brim with locals enjoying their social lives

The other side was Morton’s bay. They strolled along in the direction of Archers pier and although the silence was prominent, it wasn’t uncomfortable. The occasional glances and smiles they caught each other giving was nice 

Raelle walked along fidgeting with her hands as a way to control her nervousness. They veered onto the pier. It wasn’t busy except for a few fishermen carrying their buckets of mackerel, flathead or nothing. Depending on their luck. 

Scylla unexpectedly broke the silence “So, what do you do exactly at Bellweather?”

Raelle looked up and smiled “I run the neurology department”

Scylla raised her eyebrows “Wow, impressive Collar” 

Raelle shrugged “Not really, I have never really looked at that way. I just know I love my job and I love helping people”

“You should really give yourself more credit Raelle. What you do is impressive. Why medicine?”

Raelle put her hands in her pockets as she walked for a sense of security. This line of questioning from Scylla was heading into fragile territory

“My mum was a surgeon. One of the top surgeons in the country actually and I always aspired to be like her when I was younger. Seeing her work hard to help people gave me the motivation to want to be like her”

Raelles voice started to sound frail but she continued anyway

“My dad worked at the town Mil for over 20 years but was recently stood down. I suppose it’s one of the reasons why I decided to stay in Salem. To be with him. I couldn’t leave him alone. Not after….

Raelle stopped talking as they reached the end of the pier. It was quiet and the only light was the moon billowing off the water. They lent on the railing and peered out into the darkness just enjoying the tranquillity of the soft rippling water

After a silent minute Raelle muttered “She died” 

Raelles eyes moved from the water to Scylla “My mother, she died when I graduated from med school. Brain tumour. Its why I chose neurology. She was sick for a while and when she couldn’t work anymore I decided to take over her legacy I guess. I thought if the work I do can prevent someone from having to say goodbye to their mother, father, sister, brother or even grandparent than it makes it all worth it. Right?”

Scylla nodded and immediately felt an overwhelming urge to kiss Raelle. She thought in this moment Raelle looked beautiful and that the amount of love in her heart was immeasurable

Raelle cleared her throat “What about you? Can you tell me something about yourself if you’re comfortable?”

Scylla looked back to the water guarded but she wanted to open up to Raelle

“My dad was a police detective and my mother a teacher here in Salem. They both died when I was young and I was placed in the care of my neighbour. I had no siblings so it was just me and Costia. She took care of me, paid for my education and once I was old enough I went out into the big scary world. I travelled a bit. I guess to find out who I was and who I wanted to be. I missed home and decided to return and be with Costia. She is the only family I have and she doesn’t have anyone either”

Scylla took a deep breath, her eyes still focused on the invisible horizon in front of her “There hasn’t been a day where I don’t think of them. I miss them”

“Thanks for telling me” Raelle said in a soft voice

Scyllas eyes gleamed at Raelle and she gave her a small smile

Raelle shuffled closer to Scylla, their shoulders touching, as they both continued gazing at the water 

Raelle felt like a teenager again. The way Scylla made her feel was like standing on the edge  
of a bridge with a bungee cord attached to your ankles. 

Raelle turned to face Scylla and pulled gently on Scyllas shoulder to turn her so she was facing Raelle 

Heat rose from Raelles stomach as she looked into Scyllas eyes.

“We should head back” Scylla moved to walk away but Raelle grabbed her arm 

“Scylla wait” Raelle stuttered

Raelles heart was racing and her knees were about to give in under her weight. 

“I can’t stop thinking about you” 

Scyllas eyes were full of emotional turmoil. Sadness and fear but also desire and want. 

Raelle slowly and hesitantly reached her hand out to cup Scyllas cheek “you’re really beautiful”

Scylla felt defenceless. She closed her eyes and let her face sink into Raelles palm 

Raelle moved a few inches closer cupping Scyllas face with both hands. Scylla opened her eyes as she felt a rush of helplessness. Scylla studied Raelles eyes that looked like two polished emeralds. She knew where this moment was going and she was powerless to stop it. 

Raelle brought their lips together as Scylla fell into the kiss. The brunette’s lips felt like summer rain. The kiss was soft and slow and intimate

Scyllas hands moved to Raelles waist pulling her closer, her fingers clinging to the blonde from the intensity of it all. Their mouths moved together delicately like butterfly wings. 

Raelle felt sensations she didn’t think she was capable of feeling and her heart melted as a wave of warmth washed over her 

They pulled away slowly, both dazed and neither of them ready to let go of each other

“Was that ok” Raelle whispered 

Scyllas eyes welled “It was perfect” 

******

“I kissed Scylla last night” 

Tally squealed with a mouthful of coffee that only caused her to almost choke. She coughed and splattered gaining the attention of others sitting near them

Raelle looked around embarrassed “Tal, you ok?” 

“What is this I hear about kissing” Byron pulled up a chair and joined the girls at the table

“Raelle kissed Scylla last night” Tally says excitedly

“Well good for you sweet lips. I was waiting for you to finally get some” Byron said mockingly

Raelle flips him off 

“Aww I am so happy for you Rae” Tally said

“Thanks Tal. I really like her” 

Byron grabbed Raelles hands in his own “If she breaks your heart I won’t make things easy for her” 

Raelle giggles “I know Byron. Love you too”

******

Anacostia glared at Scylla as she grabbed the plate of peas and beans and served a spoonful onto her plate “Your quiet tonight” 

Scylla looked at Anacostia “Can you please pass the potatoes?” 

Anacostia passed the potatoes and Scylla dished them up onto her plate wanting very much to avoid the conversation that was about to take place 

Anacostia put her knife and fork down and placed her elbows down on the table locking her fingers together “Scylla, what’s going on?” 

“Nothing, everything is wonderful” Scylla said sarcastically

Anacostia’s eyebrows widened “There is something on your mind. I have known you long enough Scylla. I can read you like a book”

Scylla sighed and looked at Anacostia. She puts a spoonful of potatoes in her mouth and chewed still hoping to avoid this conversation. 

Anacostia didn’t budge and waited for Scylla to finish her chewing

Scylla huffed “There is this girl” 

Anacostia immediately quirked her eyebrow 

Scylla looked at her, a slight crimson red appearing on her face

“Her name is Raelle. She is like nobody I have ever met. She is kind, beautiful, smart. But”

“But what” Anacostia interrupts

“It would never work. I am a cop and I have already lied to her about that”

“So be honest with her. Tell her what you do for a living” Anacostia stated

“It’s not that simple Costia. I am working undercover. Plus, how do you think she will feel if I tell her I am not who I say I am”

“Do you like her?”

“Yes, No, I don’t know. Yes”

Anacostia took a sip of her wine “So, if you like her and she likes you I don’t see a problem”

Scylla picked up her glass of wine but doesn’t take a sip “I have never felt this way about anyone Costia” 

“You need to allow yourself to be happy Scylla. If this girl makes you happy you should see where it goes. You have been closed off for so long since your parents died and it’s not healthy for you at all. You need to open yourself to love”

“It’s not love yet Costia. Calm down” Scylla giggles

“Ok, but what about the possibility of love” Anacostia smiles

Scylla pushes the peas around on her plate “I guess. I am scared” 

“Scared of what?” 

“Scared of hurting her. Scared of being hurt. So many things”

“There are so many things that will hurt us in life Scylla but that doesn’t mean you can always avoid them. You need to live your life and be happy. Letting someone into your heart is always risky but when you do, it’s a wonderful experience. Love is powerful and trying to deny yourself from feeling it will only leave you feeling empty and alone. You don’t deserve that”

“How did you get to be so wise?” Scylla smiles

“Years of practice” Anacostia giggles “Now eat your dinner before it gets cold”

“Yes ma’am”

******

The precinct was busy which was also referred to as the bullpen. The bullpen was essentially a large room full of cubicles and desks where cops and detectives did their paperwork. It was noisy and full of testosterone. Scylla was one of only few female detectives at the precinct but she was good at her job and had the respect of her male colleagues 

Scylla sunk back in her chair, her feet up on the desk and tapping her pen against her leg. She was deep in thought 

Porter appeared and handed her a coffee “Large latte, with three sugars, soy milk and a dollop of caramel” 

Scylla dropped her feet to the ground and grabbed the coffee like it was her only source of oxygen “Thank you” 

“Porter, any update on the stuff from Owen’s computer?” 

“We haven’t found anything yet. He had some hidden files that we are trying to get into but they are locked. It’s going to take a bit longer sorry” 

“Ok, let me know as soon as it done”

Porter started to leave but stopped and took something out of his pocket “Oh, this came for you”

He passed the envelope to Scylla and walked away

Scylla looked over the envelope with curious eyes. All it had was her name and nothing else. She opened it and read the note inside 

_If you want information on the Bellweather case, meet me at Maritime dock 7 near the red fire hydrant at 9pm tonight. Come alone_

Scylla looked around the room and back at the note. There were no names or addresses marked on the envelope. Just the single note inside

She folded the note up and placed it in her jacket pocket as her phone buzzed

 **Raelle:** Hey you, dinner tonight?

Scylla bite her bottom lip and smiled. She waited a minute then replied 

**Scylla:** It might be a late one. I have a bit of work to finish up tonight

 **Raelle:** Late pizza and beer it is then? 😊 My house?

Scylla sat back in her chair and took a breath in. Dinner and beers at Raelles house would be like walking into the lion’s den. So much could happen. Scylla smiles and replies

 **Scylla:** Sounds perfect

 **Raelle:** 😊

Scylla looked at her watch and it had just ticked over to 6:30pm. She had time before she had to meet this contact down at the docks so she grabbed her latte and headed out of the precinct


	5. Hard Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys
> 
> Another chapter. We see the introduction of a new character as well as the story progressing further into the case.
> 
> Also there is sex in this chapter so if that's not your thing just bypass it

Scylla arrived at Maritime dock at 8:45pm and waited impatiently in her car. It was dark and quiet and not a soul around except a few of the local street rats scavenging around for food

When her car clock ticked over to 8:58pm she climbed out and headed towards dock 7 near the red fire hydrant as instructed. She walked cautiously pulling out her .38 calibre from its holster and pointed it in front of her. 

She reached the meeting point and was confronted with a male body lying on the ground sprawled out in a pool of blood and a knife wedged in his neck. 

“Fuck” 

Scylla surveyed the area making sure the perpetrator was gone then knelt down to feel for a pulse but it was long gone. 

She put her gun back in the holster, grabbed her phone and called it in

******

The coroner loaded the black body bag into the back of the transport vehicle and closed the doors just as Alder arrived at the scene

“Have we identified our John Doe yet?” Scylla asked 

“Yes, his name was Jimmy Li. He was a dock worker employed by MYCOR” Alder stated

Scyllas eyes narrowed “I was supposed to meet him here tonight. He said he had information about the case and now he is dead. That is not a coincidence” 

“I don’t think it is either Scylla. Someone got to him. Someone knew he was going to talk?"

“The question is how did he know I was the lead detective on this case? This was kept water tight. Only you and Porter knew" Scylla said firmly

Alders face dropped “Are you suggesting we might have a dirty cop?"

“That’s exactly what I am suggesting” Scylla stated bluntly

“Scylla, be careful with this. If what you’re suggesting is true, we need to be vigilant. I am assigning Senior detective Izadora to work this case with you”

“My dad’s ex-partner? I don’t need her help. I work better alone”

“I am not doing this because I doubt your ability to do your job Scylla, but you and I both know that this case is bigger than the both of us and you need help. Also, Izadora has a lot of street experience so she will be an asset”

Scylla huffed “fine”

“Go home and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow”

Scylla nodded and started walking back to her car when she suddenly remembered her dinner date with Raelle. She checked her watch and it was 10:00pm.

“Shit” 

She took out her phone and there was a missed call and two text messages from Raelle.

“Shit fuck” 

She quickly sent Raelle a message and jumped back in her car

 **Scylla:** Um, sorry the time got away from me. Still up for that pizza and beer?

 **Raelle:** Sorry, kitchen is closed. 😋 Just kidding. I would love to xx

 **Scylla:** Great, see you in 20 xx

*****

Scylla arrived at Raelles house and checked her reflection in the rear vision mirror. She looked tired. She tidied up her smudged eyeliner and climbed out of her car

Raelles house was a quaint old-style wooden camper house with a well-maintained front garden that was full of cute little plants. It had a small veranda with a deck swing and some more potted plants.

Scylla was about to knock when the door opened and she was greeted by a smiling blonde

As soon as they locked eyes the air changed. It became charged with something that had been growing between them since they met

They lingered momentarily until Raelle ushered her inside

“Your place is cute” Scylla grinned

“Thanks. Its home. I like it” 

Raelle gave Scylla an express tour then they settled on the couch with their beers

“Pizza is on its way” Raelle confirmed

“Ok, awesome I’m starving” 

Raelle giggled at the other girl 

Scylla smiled “What?” 

“Nothing, you just have these cute moments. Did you manage to get all your work done?” 

“Yes, sorry I am late and for not responding to your messages earlier. The time got away from me”

Scylla internally sighed. She knew she needed to have an honest adult conversation with Raelle but not tonight. Tonight, she didn’t want to be a cop. She just wanted to be Scylla and enjoy Raelles company

Raelles face relaxed into a smile “That’s ok. You’re here now” 

Scyllas belly was doing somersaults and it wasn’t because she was hungry. She reached out and grabbed Raelles hand entwining their fingers. The blondes eyes were especially green tonight and they sparkled like turquoise gemstones. Her lips looked full and soft and she smelt like freshly cut roses

Scyllas heart was racing as she lent in for a kiss, just as the doorbell rang 

“That will be the pizza. I’ll be right back” 

******

They ate their pizza and Raelle cleared the rubbish and moved it into the kitchen. She returned with another beer for Scylla

Scylla smirked “You trying to get me drunk Collar?” 

The blonde smirked back “That would be quite irresponsible of me to encourage you to drink and drive and very bold of me to think you wouldn’t be driving at all” 

Scylla caught on to Raelles subtle flirting and she definitely liked how it made her feel 

“Would you like to watch a movie. Or we could just talk?” Raelle asked 

Scylla studied Raelle for a moment and then decided to make a bold move. She took Raelles beer from her hand and placed them both down on the table then shifted across and straddled Raelle 

“I don’t really want to do either” Scylla stated as she smashed her lips onto Raelles

Raelle was startled at first but then eagerly kissed Scylla back. Things got heated quickly as hands fumbled everywhere. Scyllas jacket was torn off and thrown behind her, followed by her top and Raelles came off immediately after. 

Their kisses were passionate and intense as Scylla ran her fingers through Raelles hair, then rested them on her face. She tiltered her head, her hungry mouth moulded to Raelles as she slipped her tongue in and deepened the kiss, finishing off with a sexy lip bite.

Raelle pulled back "should we take this to the bedroom?"

Scylla nodded

Raelle lifted them both off the couch, the brunettes legs hugging firmly around her hips as she made her way towards the bedroom slamming Scylla against the wall in the hall on the way. Pictures came crashing down and smashed on the ground

“Shit” 

Raelle ignored the mess choosing to devour Scyllas neck instead with hot kisses and tiny nips. The blonde grinded her hips as Scyllas head hit the wall. 

Raelle lifted Scylla off the wall and headed into her bedroom throwing Scylla onto the bed

Raelle undid the button of her jeans and pulled them down to her ankles, kicking them off to the side. She slide off Scyllas jeans followed by her sexy black underwear

Raelle climbed on top hovering over her. Scylla looked up into green eyes her chest heaving and an overwhelming desire to be fucked hard by the girl she only met a few weeks ago. She reached behind to unclasp Raelles bra which fell away naturally revealing her perfect sized breasts.

Just the sight of Raelles breasts made Scylla wet so she cupped a breast and sucked on a pert nipple

Scylla eagerly spread her legs as she watched the blonde make her journey south, the look of lust all over her face

Raelle kissed her way up Scyllas thighs eliciting a sigh from the other girl. Part pleasure part annoyance at her not hitting the right spot quick enough

Finally, Raelle glided her warm tongue along Scyllas folds finishing with a moderate suck on her clit as the brunette exhaled a soft sexy moan. 

"God you taste good"

Scylla jolted her hips as Raelle slipped inside her. Two fingers went in first to navigate and explore, the brunettes pleasure filled moans was music to Raelles ears

Raelle made her way up, her fingers still pumping inside the other girl, and placed a bruising kiss on her lips. 

Raelle began fucking Scylla harder, her body moving up and down with each thrust. 

"You’re so fucking gorgeous" Raelle mumbled

Before she knew it, Scyllas orgasm was careening towards her fast and when it hit her, it hit her hard as she cried out with a throaty moan leaving her a whimpering mess beneath the blonde

Raelle rolled off her with a smug grin and feeling proud at making Scylla come undone so damn quick

Scyllas head turned towards the blonde "That was ..."

"Yeah"

******

Raelle woke in the morning with a note on her pillow

Morning, had to start early today and didn’t want to wake you  
Thank you for last night. It was 🔥

Scylla xx

Raelle smiled and dropped back into the pillows feeling absolutely elated 

******

Scylla walked through the door of the precinct only to be met by Porter.

“Scylla, we finished the decryption on Owen’s HDD. You need to see this”

Scylla followed Porter into one of the meeting rooms and accepted the folder Porter had passed her. She looked through the documents and photos and then her posture stiffened. 

Scylla felt a heaviness in her stomach and sudden coldness. She looked up at Porter with widened eyes and her mouth dropped

“Has anyone else seen this? Scylla questioned 

Porter shook his head “No, just you” 

“Keep it that way for now ok”

Porter nodded 

Scylla sat down at the table and sighed as she ran her hands through her hair. 

Scylla looked at the files again. 

“Porter, there are listings of all the drugs that are currently being smuggled into Salem.  
Heroin, MDMA, Methamphetamine, LSD, Cocaine. All hitting our streets. There are even listings of locations where all the illegal “shooting galleries” are in Salem. Fraudulent medical reports and photos of victims”

Scylla wanted to scream and Porter looked worried

“This is not just a drug smuggling operation, this is way bigger Porter. This is a business. A fully operational business. They bring the drugs in, get these innocent people addicted so these assholes can make money”

“You ok Scylla” Porter asked softly

“We need to shut this down Porter.” her voice cracking slightly 

“I know and we will” Porter placed a friendly hand on Scyllas shoulder to try and comfort her

Scyllas face softened “I have a hunch that Owen is the one responsible for the drugs coming in but I think there is another player. Someone running the streets”

“How do you know?”

“Owen is a business man but he is not street smart. He would need help. It’s got to be someone who has power in the community. I think it’s a cop”

Porters eyes widened “you think there is a dirty cop?”

“Yes, but you need to keep this quiet Porter. Any of this gets out we may tip them off and they disappear underground. We may never catch them”

Scylla looked at the files again and scoffed “look at these medical reports. This one says she died in a car accident”

Scylla throws the folder across the table as the files spilled out and scattered 

“I have never seen you like this Scylla”

Scylla stood up “I need some air. Speak to you later Porter” as she walked out of the room

*****

After Scylla left the precinct, she found herself driving around lost in thought. She eventually ended up at the cemetery.  
She hung her head as she arrived at her parents tombstone. She picked off some dead leaves and placed a small bunch of fresh pink roses in the small hole in the ground

She stood silent as the emptiness and sorrow enveloped her

"Hi mum and dad. Sorry it’s been a while since I came to visit. Things have been strange

I've been working on a big case. My biggest case actually. I could really use your advice right about now dad. You always knew what to do

I met someone. Her name is Raelle. She is a doctor. I think you would like her. I really like her. I think I'm falling for her. It’s a bit scary. Costia has been giving me love advice of all people

Scylla let out a small supressed giggle

Scylla felt her legs give way as she sank to her knees, soft tears trickled down her cheek

"I miss you" 

******

After Scylla left the cemetery, she found herself sitting in her car in front of Raelles house, her eyes all puffy from crying. 

Today made her think about her parents and for some reason she missed them more than she ever had. 

She pulled herself together and made her way to Raelles door. The porch light flicked on and she stood frozen contemplating if this was something she really wanted to bother Raelle with

Having seconds thoughts, she turned to leave as the front door opened

"Scyl"

Scylla turned around and immediately launched herself towards Raelle collapsing into her arms. Raelle embraced the brunette as she sobbed uncontrollably

"Hey Scyl, what's wrong"

Raelle pulled Scylla inside closing the door behind her and pulled her into a tight hug

"Ssshh I've got you"

Scylla held Raelle tight, afraid to let her go as she completely broke down in her arms

Raelle made Scylla some warm soup and they laid on the couch, Scylla curled up in Raelles arms. Raelle didn’t ask what was wrong and Scylla didn’t tell. Scylla eventually succumbed to sleep from the gentle ministrations of Raelles fingers through the brunettes hair. Raelle kissed her lightly on the forehead and then fell into her own slumber

******


	6. Poison Pen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again with another chapter... Hang in there guys!!

The morning sunlight blasted through the window hitting Scylla right in the face and waking her slowly, her eyes squinted while they adjusted to the brightness of the room. It took her a moment to remember where she was and then she felt the weight of loving arms around her. 

Scylla looked up to see a peaceful sleeping blonde and felt an overwhelming sense of contentment, so she reached out and gently grazed her hand down the blondes cheek 

Raelle stirred and cracked an eye open slowly “Mmmmm morning Scyl”

Scylla smiled “Morning”

Scylla checked her watch then untangled herself from the other girls limbs. “As much as I would love to lay here with you all day I have to go”

Raelle pouted “Can I at least make you some breakfast?”

Scylla shook her head as she put on her boots “Another time?”

Scylla got off the couch and started putting on her jacket while Raelle yawned and stretched. Scylla knew without a doubt that she was falling for the doctor but for the first time last night she let her guard down. She let the blonde see her rawness, her vulnerability, and Scylla needed time to process that

Raelle got off the couch and faced Scylla “Why do you always need to rush off?”

Scylla paused sensing the sternness in Raelles words “Sorry, work is just really busy right now”

Raelle raised her eyebrows “You’re in inventory. How busy can it be?”

Scylla stood silent and not really prepared for an interrogation

Raelle stared at the detective, heat forming behind her eyes “Something isn’t sitting right with me. Do you even work at the hospital? Everytime I go by your department to ask you for coffee or lunch you’re never there and nobody seems to know who you are. Then last night you turn up on my doorstep a complete mess. What’s going on Scyl?” 

Scylla internally panicked, her heart pumping madly. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on Raelles cheek “You’re right. You deserve an explanation and I promise to give it to you but right now, I have to go. Can we talk tonight? 

Raelle nodded apprehensively 

Scylla placed a soft kiss on Raelles lips “Thank you for last night”

Scylla walked out of Raelles feeling awful. She hated herself for lying but she was also scared of losing Raelle if she learnt the truth. Right now, she needed to focus on the case and explain everything to Raelle later. She had too

*********

Scylla walked into the precinct and headed straight for Porter “Hey, got a sec?”

Porter looked up from his computer “Good morning to you too”

Scylla shot him a look and walked into one of the vacant rooms, Porter followed

“I need you to order full blood work on the Maritime dock victim”

Porter scrunched his eyebrows “Why? We already know cause of death”

“I don’t care about cause of death. I am exploring a different angle. Call it a gut feeling”

Porter studied Scyllas face “You’re grumpy this morning. Did you get out on the wrong side of the bed?”

Scylla huffed “Something like that. Can you put a rush on it?”

Porter sighed “I can try. I have used up all my favours with Jenny in the lab”

Scylla placed a hand on Porters shoulder. “I am sure you will find a way Porter. Thanks”

*******

After her quick chat with Porter, Scylla knocked on Alders glass office door and waited for her nod to enter

Alder fumbled through the paperwork that was flooding her desk, her eyes didn't move from the task in front of her “What is it Scylla?”

Scylla stood tall “Um, I need to tell you something”

Alder stopped what she was doing, her eyes now focused on Scylla

Scylla stiffened as she looked into hard eyes. Scylla always had respect for the older woman and they have always had a good professional relationship, but Alder had an aura about her and sometimes it gave Scylla the chills “I broke into Owen Hunts hotel room and copied his HDD”

“Without a warrant?” Alder said firmly

Scylla nodded 

Alder sighed and stood from behind her desk. She walked around and stopped in front of the detective “I could have your badge for this Scylla”

Scyllas gaze dropped “I know”

Alder studied the younger girl “You remind me a lot of your father. He was a fine detective too. Smart, driven, brave, always jumping into the fire. But he was a pain in my ass.”

Scylla gave a half smile

“What did you find on the HDD?”

Scylla handed Alder the folder “See for yourself”

Alder took the folder and placed in on her desk. “Ill take a look” She walked back around and stood behind her desk “Is that all Scylla?”

Scylla nodded and went to leave when Alder called out to her. Scylla turned back to look at the older woman

“Your father would be proud of you. You’re a great detective but from now on its by the book. Is that clear?”

Scylla nodded “Yes, its clear Sarg”

*********

Scylla got Izadora up to speed with the case before they headed out to meet with one of Izadoras informants known as Eddie

Eddie had been on the streets all his life. He grew up in the rough area of Salem and has been Izadora’s informant for the last few years. He has proven his loyalty a number of times to Izadora with some of his tip offs leading to actual arrests. Izadora doesn't trust many people but she trusts Eddie

Scylla and Izadora parked their car and walked through a narrow laneway. It had a gritty appearance with an unpleasant odour, a mixture of rubbish, urine and dead rodents.

They walked past a few homeless people that were lying on their cardboard bedding and stained thin mattresses. The rubbish bins were overflowing and the local feral cats were feeding on scraps.

They got to the end of the laneway where Eddie was waiting for them. He looked nervous

Izadora greeted him, Eddie just nodded and shifted on his feet, as he looked down the laneway making sure they weren’t followed.

Scylla had her doubts about Eddie but chose to trust Izadora “What do you know about the shooting galleries in Salem? 

“I don’t know much but I know about one place. The Poison Pen” Eddie explained

Scylla scoffed sarcastically “That’s fitting” 

“What is the poison pen?” Izadora asked

“The Poison Pen is like an exclusive club. Only regular clients are allowed in and the drugs are of the purest kind. Not like some of the low grade stuff you find on the street. It’s also very hidden and you need a special tattoo to enter”

Izadora cocked her head “Tattoo?”

Eddie googled it on his phone and showed Izadora and Scylla. “It looks like this”  
It was just a small design of a scull 💀

Scylla held out a picture on her phone to Eddie “Have you ever seen this man or heard the name Jimmy Li” 

Eddie shook his head

“Have you seen anyone hanging around the poison pen that you could identify?” Izadora asked

Eddie shook his head

"Ok thanks" Scylla and Izadora were done with questioning Eddie and started to walk off 

Eddie stopped them “Wait, can I look at that picture again?” 

Scylla held up her phone again as Eddie looked at the photo 

“I just remembered something I saw the other night outside the poison pen. Two people. One of them could have been that man”

“Can you describe the person he was with?” Scylla asked

“I think it was a woman. Maybe middle aged, roughly 5’7. It was pretty dark. I didn’t think much of it at first but then they started arguing and it got pretty heated”

“Anything else you can remember?” Izadora asked 

“Um, I think she was Asian. Like I said it was dark” 

Izadora nodded “Ok, thanks Eddie” 

Scylla and Izadora walked back down the alley and back to their car 

They made their way back to the precinct, Izadora was driving and Scylla was messaging Raelle 

**Raelle:** I’m thinking about you xx

 **Scylla:** Thinking about you too xx

 **Raelle:** Miss you

 **Scylla:** Miss you back

 **Raelle:** IMG.jpg

Scylla opened the message then coughed and splattered the coffee in her mouth all over the dashboard of the car

Izadora cursed “Scylla, what the hell” 

Scylla cleared her throat “Sorry, just went down the wrong pipe”

Izadora looked at the brunette unimpressed. Scylla had to avert her gaze so Izadora didn’t see the subtle crimson red that was forming on her face

(Turns out Raelle sent Scylla a photo of her tits)

 **Scylla:** You’re so in trouble for that 😉

 **Raelle:** Can’t wait 😘

********

Scylla stopped by the hospital to give Abigail an update on the case. She removed her gun and badge and any traces of her being a detective before she entered the hospital. She borrowed a lab coat to blend in as she hunted around the hospital for Abigail. She eventually found her in the archive room

It was a short visit and Scylla just advised Abigail that at this stage, she had found no incrimniating evidence that could link her mother or the hospital to anything illegal. Despite Abigails reluctance to believe it at first, she eventually did and that reluctance turned into relief.

After her discussion with Abigail, Scylla got off on the 2nd floor and walked through the nuerology department on a mission to find a certain blonde who was looking into a microscope 

“Can we talk?” Scylla asked abrubtly

Raelle looked up, surprised to see the brunette but also taken back by the her tone “Um, sure”

“Somewhere private” Scylla stated

“Is this about this morning?” Raelle asked and she led them both to one of the private rooms

Scylla ignored Raelle and as soon as the door clicked shut Raelle was being flipped around and pushed against the wall face first

Scylla immediately took charge, pushing her own body against the blondes back, further impaling her on the wall and whispering in her ear “Do you think its fair to send explicit photos to me while I am working Doctor Collar?”

Raelle was shocked and dazed and could only muffle a small sound

Scylla ran her fingers through Raelles hair, grabbing it and tugging her head back gently “Answer me Raelle” 

Scylla kicked the blondes feet apart with her foot and nipped at her ear “spread your legs”

Raelle muttered “You going to read me my rights officer?” her face squashed against the wall

Scylla found the irony in Raelles statement because after all she was a cop but right now she knew it was just role play

Scylla let go of Raelles hair and she slid her hand down the front of the blondes scrubs finding instant wetness

Raelle jolted “God Scyl”

Raelle clawed at the wall desperately trying to find something to grab onto as Scyllas fingers rolled around on her clit

Scylla bit at Raelles shoulder as her other hand crept under the blondes top finding her breast

Raelle shivered and her heavy breath billowed against the wall 

Scylla could feel a heart racing but she wasn’t sure if it was hers or Raelles. She traced her tongue along the blondes ear as two fingers dipped inside the doctor

“Fuck Scyl” Raelle gasped

Raelle instinctively thrusted her hips forward against Scyllas hand as the brunette squeezed her nipple

Raelle didn’t realise she was humping Scyllas hand like a horny teenager until her orgasm hit her. She groaned quietly, fearing someone would hear her. 

Scylla worked Raelle through her orgasm and when she felt the blondes legs give way, she grabbed onto her and sat her down on a nearby crate

“You good?” Scylla asked

Raelle nodded “I need a minute” 

Scyllas phone started ringing and it was Izadora “I need to take this Raelle. You sure you’re good?”

Raelle nodded 

Scylla placed a soft kiss on Raelle’s forehead “I’ll see you tonight beautiful”

Scylla left the room and answered the call leaving Raelle a breathless mess

“Scylla, it’s Izadora. You need to get back to the precinct right now. We found something”

“On my way” Scylla responded on her way out the door

********

Scylla arrived back at the precinct and found Izadora and Porter in the meeting room

“What’s going on?” What did you find?”

Izadora passed Scylla the blood report from the dock victim “The bloods came back and the man that was killed was not Jimmy Li”

Scyllas eyes widened "What?"

“Jimmy Li worked in a coffee shop in Salem and died over 10 years ago from pancreatic cancer” Izadora explained

Scylla looked at Porter and than back at Izadora “Then who is it?”

Porter cut in “The victims name is Tommy Huang. We are running background checks on him as we speak but whoever killed him, planted the fake ID on him for a reasons and don’t want us to know who he is”

Scylla was shocked

“There’s more” Izadora said “Tommy’s girlfriend died earlier this year of a drug overdose”

Scyllas brain was ticking over with all this new information “Ok, hear me out. I have a crazy theory. What if Tommy and his girlfriend were regular clients of the poison pen. The girlfriend dies and Tommy wants out. He threatens to leave but they won’t let him. Once you're in the poison pen there is no leaving. He meets with this person who we can only assume is the one running things and threatens to go to the cops. They argue then Tommy ends up dead. They have him killed to shut him up and place the fake ID on the body to throw us off. Which means if we find out the story behind Tommy, it might lead us to the person running the streets"

Izadora had a blank look on her face as she looked at Scylla "Wow. That’s a good theory Scylla. It’s plausible. Porter, can you let us know when you find something on Tommy?" 

Porter nodded

*********

Scylla packed up her desk, said goodnight to Porter and left the precinct. 

**Scylla:** I am leaving the office now. See you soon xx

 **Raelle:** Ok, drive safe xx

On the drive over to Raelles, Scyllas brain was processing a million things. There were so many ways this chat with Raelle could go and 

******CRASH******

Scylla felt the air leave her lungs as she was t-boned from the side by another car. Her vision blurred as the sounds of glass and metal smashing filled her ears. After her car stopped flipping, Scylla found herself stuck. Her lungs were aching and she could taste blood as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her last thought of Raelle before she passed out.


	7. Upside Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys
> 
> This chapter could be looked at as a filler chapter but an important one to keep the story moving forward. This one will be wrapping up soon so things will start to unravel. As always, I hope you enjoy and I love reading all the theories :-)

The accident scene was a mess. Scyllas car had flipped quite a distance on impact after she was hit from the side by a ute that went straight through a stop sign. The drivers side door took the bulk of the impact and it took the rescue team nearly an hour to get her out of her smashed-up car 

Scylla was eventually dragged out and transferred onto a gurney, then rolled into the back of an ambulance. The paramedic removed her oxygen mask to ask her some standard protocol questions about her injuries but Scylla was too incoherent. The mask was placed back over her face as the ambulance raced to the hospital.

Scylla was immediately wheeled in to Bellweather and taken straight up for x-rays. They kept her spinal collar on until they were able to determine if she had any spinal injuries. They also took some bloods to check for drugs or alcohol and ran some other basic tests. 

There was no sign of drugs or alcohol in her system and her injuries were not life threatening, a few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, some minor cuts and bruising. Scylla was lucky under the circumstances and was ordered to stay in hospital for 48 hours for observation despite her bitter protests.

Anacostia arrived at the hospital in record time after receiving a phone call from the police advising her about the accident. The older woman charged in and after being unintentionally rude to everyone, she was finally guided to the right place. 

Anacostia slid the door opened quietly, trying not to wake a sleeping Scylla as she stepped inside the room. Her heart dropped at the sight of her illegitimate daughter looking so vulnerable. Scylla was hooked up to a morphine intravenous drip and attached to monitors that measured her heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. Her right shoulder was heavily bandaged, the cut above her lip had 3 tiny stiches in it and her right eye was badly bruised

Anacostia walked around the bed and sat down carefully 

Scylla woke slowly, still groggy from all the painkillers but still managing a small smile when she saw the older woman “it looks worse than it is” voice scratchy

Anacostia took Scyllas hand “What happened?” 

Scylla voice was low and rough “I don’t know. I was on my way to Raelles and the next thing I know I am waking up here” 

Scylla closed her eyes and stroked her temple "Oh my god, Raelle. She is going to think I blew her off”

Anacostia squeezed Scyllas hand "You really think she is going to be angry at you for getting into a car accident? Raelle will understand once she knows you're ok

Scyllas eyes burned with worry "What if she doesn't. I was on my way to her house, we were going to talk. I was going to explain everything. Now she is going to find out I lied to her and everything is going to turn upside down. I can't lose her Costia. I have never felt this way about anyone. I love her

Anacostia gently squeezed Scyllas shoulders "You need to not let yourself get so worked up. Raelle will understand when you get a chance to talk to her but right now you need to rest. If you resist I will ask the nurse to put you to sleep

Scylla perked her eyebrows "fine"

“I will come back later with a change of clothes, some toiletries and anything else you think you might need?”

Scyllas smile turned childlike “Gummy bears?” 

Anacostia chuckled “I will see what I can do”

********

Scylla was in bed bored shitless flicking through the limited selection of boring TV channels on the hospital standard 26inch telly when Izadora walked in

Scyllas eyes popped at sight of her partner, a welcome distraction from current state of extreme boredom 

Izadora paused when she saw Scylla "You look like you have seen better days"

Scylla huffed "Thanks"

“How are you feeling”

“Better, I still feel like I went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson but I think I won” Scylla chuckled

Izadora smiled which faded slowly “Scylla, I have looked into the crash and I don’t think this was just an accident. It looks like you were hit on purpose. I think they were targeting you”

Scylla took a deep breath “I don’t think it was an accident either. What happened to the driver who hit me?”

“MIA. They took off after the crash. I am doing what I can to track them down”

“Shit” Scylla closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a headache forming 

Izadora sat on the edge of the bed, her voice low “Scylla, this case is getting risky. I think its for the best we keep everything from now on water tight. Maybe just between us and Alder. If there is someone working on the inside, we need to draw them out and not risk tipping them off. You could have been killed”

Scylla nodded “I agree”

“I need to ask, but can we trust Porter? 

Scyllas eyes popped in surprise “Porter Tippet? We can trust him. He is like a puppy dog. He would be the person I would least expect to be involved in this”

Izadora placed a gentle hand on Scyllas shoulder “Ok, I trust your judgement. I will keep you posted on the case ok”

Scylla nodded “thanks Izadora”

“Hey, did we find anything on Tommy Huang?”

“No, not yet. Well nothing substantial anyway. Every time I think we have a lead, it fizzles out”

“Dammit… Ok thanks Izadora”

Izadora nodded “get some sleep” as she left the room

*******

Raelle arrived at the hospital for her shift feeling a mixture of emotions. She was angry at Scylla for blowing her off last night and not bothering to return her text messages or phone calls, she was worried in case Scylla had another breakdown like she did the other night and she was alone and hurting, and she was scared because until recently, Raelle hadn’t realised that she was actually in love with Scylla and now the thought of losing her was all too much 

Raelle pushed her locker closed as her pager beeped. She was being summoned to the waiting room on Level 3 which was for rehabilitation, physio, and physical therapy

Raelle walked into the waiting room to be greeted by a tall older dark-skinned woman

Raelle tilted her head quizzically “Hi, I am Raelle, are you the one that’s looking for me?”

Anacostia took a step closer “Yes, I am. Are you Raelle?”

Raelle clenched her jaw “Yes, what’s this about?”

“My name is Anacostia. I am here about Scylla” 

Raelle felt fear wash over her “What about Scylla? Is she ok?” 

“Scylla was involved in a car collision last night. She is ok and she is here at Bellweather”

Raelles body tightened “What room is she in?”

“34B” Anacostia barely finished her sentence before Raelle was bolting out of the waiting room

*******

Raelle arrived at Scyllas room as a nurse was checking her vitals. Scyllas eyes softened when she saw the blonde. 

“How’s our patient doing Jenny””

“She is doing well Dr Collar” 

“Well enough to go home?” Scylla wiggled her eyebrows

“How about you let the professionals be the judge of that?” Raelle stated

Scylla pouted as nurse Jenny left the room

Raelle placed a soft kiss on Scyllas forehead and sat down on the bed, taking Scyllas hand in her own “Scyl. I was so scared when Anacostia told me you were in an accident?”

Scylla squeezed the blonde’s hand “I’m ok Rae”

Raelle checked the monitors and pulled out her flash light and flicked it in front of Scyllas eyes to check for any head trauma.

“Raelle I am fine”

Raelle ignored Scylla and placed her stethoscope on her chest

Scylla grabbed Raelles hand to stop her “Rae, I am ok. Nurse Jenny just checked me remember. You were here 

Raelle chuckled “I thought you blew me off last night”

Scylla swallowed hard “I had no intention of blowing you off Raelle but we do need to have that talk”

“I know and we will. Right now, you should rest”

“If one more person tells me to rest” Scylla says firmly

“Well, I am qualified to give you orders and I order you to rest” Raelle brings Scyllas hand up to her lips and gives it a soft kiss “I need to sign in but I’ll come by later and check on you ok”

Scyllas nodded “ok”

Raelles face turned serious for a second "Scyl, what happened?"

Scylla looked away "I don’t really want to talk about it if that’s ok?"

Raelle grabbed the brunettes chin and turned her head so she would look at her "hey, it’s ok. We don't need to talk about it. Do you need anything?"

Scylla shook her head "I just need you"

Raelle leaned forward and softly kissed Scylla on her mouth

Scylla winced at her cut above her lip

"Oh, shit sorry Scyl"

"It’s ok. It was worth the pain"

*******

Raelle was on her lunch break and on her way to see Scylla when an admin nurse yelled out to her "Excuse me Dr Collar. Are you going to see Miss Ramshorn?"

Raelle walked over to the girl "Yes, why?"

"The police dropped this off for her from the accident. I think it’s her personal items"

Raelle took the bag from the girl "Thanks, I’ll pass it onto her"

Raelle did a double take on the bag as her eye caught light reflecting off what looked like a police badge. She looked at the bag closer and could see the details of the badge more clearly **Salem Police Detective Division K1934DF**

“Oh, I think there is some mistake. I don’t think this is Miss Ramshorns personal effects”

The admin nurse took the bag back from Raelle and opened it and pulled out an ID tag

“It looks like it is Dr Collar”

Raelle gabbed the ID tag and read it **Detective Scylla Ramshorn**

Raelles muscles tightened. She gave a fake smile to the admin nurse and took the bag and continued along to Scyllas room. Raelle suddenly felt like she had a 10-tonne truck sitting on her shoulders. Her heart raced, she tasted metal in her mouth and she felt light headed. 

Raelle walked into Scyllas room, shoulders sagged. Scylla picked up on it right away

“Raelle. Are you ok?”

Raelle looked at Scylla with icy eyes. “Anything you want to tell me Scylla?”

Scylla spotted the bag in Raelles hand “Raelle I can explain”

Raelle threw the bag onto the bed “Explain what. That you’re a cop. That you lied to me”

“Raelle please, just let me explain”

“You don’t even work at the hospital, do you? You have been a cop this whole time?”

“Yes, but let me explain”

“You know what, this is my lunch break. I can’t do this right now”

“RAELLE WAIT”

Raelle walked out of Scyllas room

“RAELLE”

******

It had been a full 24 hours since things blew up with Raelle and Scylla hadn’t had a visit from the blonde. Anacostia walked in and spotted Scylla in plain clothes gathering her things into a bag 

“What the hell are you doing” Anacostia grunted

Scylla sat down to put on her boots “I am discharging myself” 

“No, you’re not Scylla. Get back in that bed now. You were just in a bad car accident”

Looking up at the older woman “Costia I am fine. I am not staying here another day”

“Scylla, please stop being stubborn and listen”

“Raelle knows. She found out I am a Detective and she walked out on me and I haven’t heard from her since so this is the last place I want to be right now”

Anacostia stood quiet, not really knowing what to say

Scylla stood straight faced and determined “Now are you going to drive me home or am I catching the bus?”

Anacostia rolled her eyes and scoffed “Fine, but you’re coming home with me, someone needs to keep an eye on you”

******

After Raelle went radio silent, Tally turned the hospital inside and out, eventually finding her on the roof in the hospital garden 

Raelle was sitting on a ledge absentmindedly staring into nothing, her eyes with remnants of tears. Tally picked up on it straight and sat down warily next to her best friend “Hey Rae”

Raelle didn’t look at her “Hey Tal”

Tally prodded softly “You ok? You want to tell me what’s wrong?” 

Raelle suddenly came back to herself and looked at the red head. “Scylla lied to me”

“What do you mean? What did she lie about?”

“Oh, just the fact she is a Detective in the police force” Raelle says bitterly

Tally blinked “Huh, Scyllas a cop?”

“Yep, she never worked at the hospital. She lied Tal” 

Tallys mouth gaped, starved of words

Raelle grabbed her empty coffee cup and through it into the garden “She played me for a fool” 

Tally flinched from the outburst “Did you ask her why she lied?”

“What does it matter? A lie is a lie. Aren’t relationships supposed to be built on trust? Well, ours failed big time”

“Talk to her Rae. Maybe she has an explanation?”

“I am not interested in anything she has to say. I am so glad I didn’t tell her I loved her”

“Wait, you love her?” 

“I thought I did but now that she has lied”

“Raelle, if you love her you need to talk to her. Don’t just walk away based on what you assume to be true. I have never seen you so happy since you met Scylla and so what. So, she has another job. Maybe being a detective she had no choice in keeping that quiet. You don't know her circumstances"

Raelle sat there silent, processing Tallys words

“What if she loves you too? Isn’t it worth finding out before you just shut the book on her”

Raelle looked at Tally with a small smirk “Aren’t you supposed to be on my side and agree with everything I say when it comes to love?”

Tally chuckled and placed her head on Raelles shoulder “Not when you’re being an ass about it” 

They sat there silent for a few moments

“Love you Tal”

“Love you too Rae”

*******

Scylla walked into the precinct the next morning looking like she just stepped out of a war zone. She winced as she walked, her broken ribs still reminding her of the crash, the cut above her lip was healing nicely but still visible to the naked eye and the swelling around her eye had gone down but was still deeply bruised

Scylla tracked down Izadora and Porter who were doing some reconnaissance in the meeting room. Their heads turned once they saw Scylla

"Scylla, aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?"

"I'm fine Porter. Nice cut” Scylla pointed to a small gash above Porters eye “Where are we at?"

Porter nodded completely ignoring the gash comment “Ok, the background check on Tommy Huang is a dead end. We think you were right about him and his girlfriend being members of poison pen and Tommy wanting to leave once she died. We checked the CCTV footage from the night of the argument but found nothing conclusive. We don’t have any footage of their faces as it was dark and the camera angles weren’t enough to make an ID.

"So, we have nothing "Scylla sneered

Izadora looked over to the only male in the room "Porter, can you give us a moment please?"

Porter looked offended but got the hint and begrudgingly left the room

Scylla looked perplexed at Izadora

“Scylla, I found something and I think considering the nature of this case it would be best I discuss it with you first privately”

“Ok, what did you find?”

“I found it weird that the poison pen wasn’t listed as one of the hot spot locations on Owen’s HDD. So, I looked into it deeper. I think it’s a legal safe house 

Izadora stood up "Maybe we are looking at this all wrong"

Scylla looked confused "Izadora, you're going to have to explain what you mean"

Izadora started pacing "Maybe someone is purposely leading us down the wrong path”

Scylla sat up straighter “You think someone is planting evidence or tampering with evidence? To throw us off?"

Izadora nodded “I do. I looked into Owen Hunts background and he is clean as a whistle. So, I dug further and looked into his parents. Owen’s father, John Hunt was killed in prison 3 years ago. He was jailed for drug smuggling and attempted murder. He had served 19 years of his sentenced then ended up dead. Guess who was the arresting officer?

“Who?” Scylla answered

“Your father”

Scyllas face dropped

Izadora continued “That’s not all. John Hunt before he had Owen was in a relationship. I don’t know for how long because the records aren’t clear enough but he had a son”

Scyllas eyes grew wide “Owen Hunt has a half-brother? 

"I believe so. Like I said, the records at Salem archives are not that great. We may need to send a request to obtain records from the institute to gather more history. But that’s my theory anyway. Also, we need to keep this between us. Right now, we don't know who to trust"

Scylla nodded "Understood"

******


	8. Trepidation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys,
> 
> Two more chapters left. I hope you're all still engaged and enjoying the ride. A lot happens in the next 2 chapters so here we go.

Several cars pulled up outside a warehouse with "SALEM PD" emblazoned on the side as ten uniformed officers climbed out. Scylla stepped out of her unmarked car and raised her hand, holding her team in place until she was ready to give the order to move in 

After a lot of back and fourths with the criminal bar association and Alder having to step in and wave her authority in their faces, Scylla finally managed to get warrants to conduct a raid at the Maritime dock and the warehouse that Scylla discovered the night of her stake out. Scylla was leading a small strike team to conduct a full sweep of the premises and apprehend any or all staff.

While the warehouse and dock raids were taking place, Izadora was also leading a small strike team at the shooting galleries. Their approach was element of surprise to allow them the best chance of finding criminal activity or in other words catch them in the act.

Scylla worked with a surveillance team to gather intel before the raid so she was fully prepared. She knew the names of all the employees working on site and that there were16 staff working that night. 4 forklift drivers, 7 packers, 3 inventory clerks and the driver of the white truck

Ten officers were in position ready to go. Six were to follow Scylla into the warehouse, the other 4 were stationed around the perimeter.

Scylla gave the order "Strike team move in now"

Scylla went in first gun drawn while her team split behind her. 3 going left, 3 going right. Scylla headed straight for the supervisor while the squad team rounded up the employees to a designated area.

Scylla handed over the warrant and with their full co-operation, the search began. They did a full sweep of the warehouse opening pallets and boxes, checking stock on the floor, on the truck and reviewing paperwork.

All employee IDs were checked and to Scyllas disappointment, they found nothing. No narcotics, only those that were on the authorised list, no evidence of foul play, everything on the paperwork was correct and when Scylla asked about the unusual suspicious sign swapping the explanation she was provided was deemed acceptable. Apparently, the freight forwarders do it all the time to save on operation costs when they have a shortage of drivers or trucks.

Izadora arrived back at the precinct not long after Scylla with the same outcome. All they found at each listed location were vacated lots and empty rooms. There was no trace of drugs or any sign of unlawful behaviour

******

“You mean to say I risked insubordination in getting you those warrants only to be told you found nothing?” Alder grumbled

Scylla and Izadora looked at each, almost deciding telepathically on who should respond first

Scylla bit the bullet "It looks that way Sarg. We did a thorough sweep of the entire premises, checked all paperwork, conducted background checks on all employees, everything by the book. At this stage I don’t have anything incriminating against Mr Hunt, MYCOR or Bellweather”

Alder glared at Scylla “How do you explain the dock victim, Owen’s HDD, the poison pen and the blood results?”

Izadora piped in “We can’t. We are looking at all avenues but so far, we keep finding dead ends. Scylla and I still firmly believe we have a mole”

Alder furrowed her brow “This is a very wild accusation ladies and if you're wrong, the consequences could cost someone their career. What evidence do you have that there might be a mole?”

Scylla chose to answer this one “It’s a hunch but all evidence we have is circumstantial. We also don't believe my accident was in fact an accident. We suspect I was being targeted"

Alder scoffed "Again, where is the evidence ladies. Please bring me something substantial and soon otherwise I'm closing this case"

Alder waves them off

Scylla and Izadora leave Alders office feeling like everything just unravelled but not in a good way

“Have you ever seen her so wound up?” Scylla said

“No, she must be feeling pressure from the higher ups. This case is going nowhere. We need to find something quick Scylla otherwise we might lose our chance”

“I agree. Have you seen Porter? I haven’t seen him since you distastefully kicked him out of the meeting yesterday” Scylla said smirking

“It wasn’t distasteful and No I haven’t seen him. You and I both know why I kicked him out” Izadora stated

“Its just strange. Since I have known him I don’t remember him ever having a day off. I called him and left a voicemail but he still hasn’t got back to me”

“You don’t think he could be the mole, do you?”

Scylla paused thinking about what Izadora just said to her “Nah, no way. He is probably just doing family stuff”

Izadora nodded unconvincingly but let it go

*******

Raelle woke herself up uncharacteristically early for the sole purpose of dropping by Scyllas place in hope for a chat. She knocked on Scyllas front door a few times with no answer. She knocked again and waited. Still nothing. She walked around to the side of her apartment and peered in the window. The lights were off and there was no sign of life inside so she made her way back to the front door and pinned a note to the door. 

_Hey Scyl, I know we left things unresolved but I am keen to talk if you are. I don’t have your new number so maybe text me when you’re free? xx Raelle_

******

Scylla headed down to the institute of records to look into the history of the Hunt family. It really was her last chance to find something before the case got thrown and rather than wait weeks or maybe months for the records to be sent over, she decided to go and have a look herself  
The derelict building clung to the hillside right next to the new fancy architectural eyesores. The building was so beaten that it looked like it had a starring role in an old-fashioned horror movie. Scylla walked through the heavy mahogany doors and was instantly hit with that old musky smell. 

Dust collected everywhere as far as the eye could see, it had a dark ambience with cracked ceilings and lots of shelves with books and boxes. Scylla sat down at a very old computer that still had a dial up modem and searched the catalogue. 

It was arranged by year and Scylla could only assume that it went back a long way due to the amount of results that came up. She was only interested in the last 30 years. 

Three hours later, and after looking through 100’s of boxes of files, CD’s, newspaper articles and the internet, she yawned and was ready to throw in the towel.  
She sunk back in the chair allowing her body to catch up with her mind. She took a deep breath and rubbed the tiredness away from her eyes.

Her thoughts drifted to Raelle and her heart became heavy. Heavy with guilt at not being honest with the blonde from the beginning. She was angry at herself too at finally allowing herself to fall in love with someone only to screw it all up. She wasn't going to give up and let Raelle walk away without a fight, Raelle was worth fighting for. She would do whatever it took. She was deeply in love with her. 

She stood up and stretched her arms above her head and winced at the ache in her back. She looked over the mess she had made with boxes scattered over the table and floor, and pieces of paper sat in messy piles, it looked like an organised mess. 

An older woman approached Scylla “Do you need any help dear? You have been here for a while”

Scylla turned to face the woman “Um, yes is this everything on Salem from the last 30 years?”

The lady shook her head “No dear, you would need to go to the 5th floor. Everything prior to 1990 is not on the computer or down here. It’s in the storage archives”

Scylla huffed and rubbed her eyes “Ok, thank you”

Scylla put everything away and headed up to the 5th floor. She pulled out boxes with records for students from Salem junior school and high school. She scanned through medical records and hospital records for patients that might link to John Hunt’s apparent other son. 

Scyllas eyes locked onto an old medical report from a place called Belvedere. It was a school for boys that had no family and that were under the age of 18. The medical report showed that in 1997 an 8-year-old boy was dropped off on the doorstep of Belvedere with no family.

 **Name:** Unknown  
**Family:** Unknown  
**Age:** 8  
**Gender:** Male  
**Personality:** Cold and distant, Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias, Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders, Eating disorders, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia.

“Jesus, this kid was a fruit loop” Scylla muttered to herself

Scylla walked up to different older lady “Excuse me but how can I find out more details about these reports? Like names and photos?”

The older lady looked at Scylla, glasses on her nose tip “Those records are sealed. You would...”

Right then Scylla flashed her badge. “Look, I don’t have time to run around and get court orders. This case is time sensitive. Please”

The older lady studied Scylla “Ok, you can’t take the file but I will let you look at it”

“That is fine”

“Follow me” 

Scylla followed the lady and waited at the desk

“Which specific file do you need dear?”

“Um, the medical report for Belvedere from 1997”

The woman nodded and went behind a locked door. She returned and handed the file to Scylla

Scyllas eyes widened 

**Name:** Ethan Hunt  
**Parents:** John and Maryann Hunt  
**Age:** 8  
**Gender:** Male  
**Personality:** Cold and distant, Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias, Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders, Eating disorders, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia

“BINGO” Scylla muttered “Um why aren’t there any photos with these files?” 

“They probably got destroyed in the fire at the old building all those years ago. We lost a lot of our old records”

Scylla sighed “Dammit, ok. Thank you”

Scylla left the library and headed home. It was late and she was drained. She needed sleep 

She went to open the door and saw a note from Raelle. Her heart fluttered, partly nervous and partly excited 

As soon as Scylla was inside her apartment she sent a text to Raelle

 **Scylla:** Hey, sorry its late. I got your note and I would definitely like to talk. Tomorrow night?  
**Raelle:** That’s ok, I was up anyway. Tomorrow night is good for me.  
**Scylla:** Well, you now have my new number. See you tomorrow. Goodnight Raelle xx  
**Raelle:** Goodnight Scyl xx

*******

The next day Scylla briefed Izadora and Alder on what she found at the institute of archives and they all decided it would be best to bring in additional resources. They reached out to the FBI, to help retrieve information on Ethan Hunt including trying to obtain a photo. They didn’t have the resources at the precinct and Scylla lucked out at the institute. 

*******

Raelle arrived at work and parked her car in her usual undercover parking spot. She grabbed her bag, closed the boot of her car and started walking towards the lift when she noticed a man sitting on the ground leaning up against the tyre of his car holding his heart. Raelle being a doctor raced over to the man to check if he was ok. She knelt down beside him

“Excuse me, are you ok? I’m a doctor”

The next thing Raelle could see was a gun pointed at her

“Don’t make a sound” the man instructed

Raelle stared straight into the barrel of the gun, her heartbeat was the only thing she could hear. Her head was telling her to try and remain calm but her body was fighting to do the complete opposite and that was to panic. Her hands started to tremble from the sudden overwhelmingly injection of adrenalin and her legs felt like jelly, she was terrified

All she could think to do was raise her hands slowly and not make any sudden moves till this whole misunderstanding could be sorted out. 

“What do you want?” Raelle said nervously

“Are you Raelle Collar?” 

Raelle stood, frozen in place, her eyes moved slowly from the barrel of the gun to the eyes of the gunman, scared to reveal herself to the strange man in case it set him off and he fired his weapon 

“What is this about?” Raelles voice was starting to crack

“ANSWER ME” the man yelled

“YES YES, I am Raelle Collar”

The man opened the boot of his car and pushed Raelle towards it.

“Get in”

“Please there must be a mistake. We can try and work this out somehow” 

“GET IN. I WON’T ASK YOU AGAIN”

The man forcibly pushed her into the boot of his car

“GIVE ME YOUR PHONE”

Raelle hesitantly handed over her phone to man before the boot was slammed in her face. The man got back in his car and drove out of the car park

******

Scylla was at her desk doing paperwork when her phone beeped

 **Message received:** MMS msg  
UNKNOWN NUMBER

Scylla opened the message and her heart stopped dead in her chest

It was a photo of Raelle, her eyes brimmed with fear, small scratches, dirt and pockets of dried blood coloured her face

Written underneath the photo was an address with another message COME ALONE. IF I EVEN SUSPECT YOU’RE NOT ALONE I KILL HER

*******

Scyllas SUV was last seen speeding down the highway, lights flashing madly at the same time as a fax was feeding through the fax machine from the FBI back at the precinct of a photo identifying the man who was supposedly known as Ethan Hunt


	9. Flame in my heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone,
> 
> This is it guys. The final chapter. Chapter 10 will be a fun Raylla chapter because we all need that. Them being happy and in love.

Scyllas GPS showed she was 5 minutes out from the location. The terrain changed quite quickly, from gravel to dirt and from wide open spaces to a blanket of trees. She pulled her car over and decided to go the rest of the way by foot. She hit decline on Izadoras phone call and flicked her phone to silent mode. 

It was ominously quiet, only the sounds of rustling leaves blowing from the light wind and the creaking from the trunks of the old oak trees, the ground spongy from the recent rain.

Scylla had her weapon drawn but pointed to the ground as the old cabin came into sight, enveloped in the surrounding greenery of trees and bushes. The cabin had dark logs that were cracked and mossy and a crooked stone chimney with smoke billowing out of it, the faint smell of burning wood in the air

The thunder crackled in the distance as Scylla approached slowly, her .38 calibre leading the way. She looked around, the only movement was coming from the leaves dancing in the wind. Scylla crept up to the side of the cabin and carefully peered in the window. She saw Raelle, tied up by her hands and sitting on a couch. Scylla couldn't see anyone else in the cabin so she took a breath and turned the door knob slowly

Scylla entered the cabin cautiously, her senses on edge for any sound or movement that would lead her to the perpetrator’s location. She locked eyes with Raelle who looked back at the brunette with red rimmed eyes. Blood spit drool painted her jaw and Scyllas heart turned inside out at seeing Raelle such an agonised mess

Scylla put her finger to her lips so Raelle wouldn't make a sound, while she did a sweep of the cabin.

The door behind her clicked shut followed by a familiar voice that sent chills down her spine "Hello Scylla"

Scylla turned around to a gun pointed at her, her brain stuttering for a moment as shock and fear washed over her

"Porter, you son of a bitch. It was you"

The light sound of mizzling rain hit the roof and windows of the cabin, breaking the unnerving silence in what felt like the house of horrors

Scylla glanced over at Raelle who was sitting there silent, fear dripping from her face, then back to Porter. His eyes were stone cold and behind them Scylla could see a man who was unhinged, unpredictable and maybe damaged beyond repair

“Porter, let Raelle go. She has nothing to do with this” Scylla pleaded

“Shut up” he snapped “Do you even know why I am doing this? Do you even care?”

Scylla could feel her palms sweating “Why don’t you put the gun down and let Raelle go and you and me can talk about it”

Porter laughed wickedly, his hand tightly closed around the cold surface of the metallic grey coloured revolver. “Do you know what its like to be the forgotten child? To be dumped on the footstep of some place and forgotten about? My father went to prison and I was left alone all because of your stupid father”

Lights went off behind Scyllas eyes “Your Ethan Hunt, aren’t you?”

Porters eyes went dark. “Ethan Hunt died a long time ago”

Scylla hesitantly took a step forward, her raised hands offering a gesture of surrender “I don’t know what it’s like to be in that situation no. I am sorry you had to go through that Porter but you know this is not the way”

“Did you know my brother knew about me. His half-brother and he wanted nothing to do with me. The golden child. the youngest CEO, the teacher’s pet. Owen got everything handed to him on a silver platter. I got nothing. That’s ok though, he will get what’s coming to him”

“What did you do Porter?”

“I planted all that stuff on the HDD” Porter gave a vile smile

“What about the body at the dock? Was that you?”

“Oh yeah but that was just for fun. Just like ramming into your car. Although you were supposed to die”

Scylla suddenly felt unsettled as the rain started hammering down. She needed a way out of this, a way to get both her and Raelle out safely. 

“Porter, please, let Raelle go. She is not a part of this”

“Your girlfriend is very much a part of this. My plan is to kill her first so you can watch her die and then kill you, Owen will get blamed for the murder. It’s the perfect plan”

“You’re never going to get away with this Porter. The best thing you can do right now is put the gun down and let Raelle go”

“STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!! I AM THE ONE HOLDING THE GUN SCYLLA”

Scylla flinched at Porter’s outburst. His eyes unbalanced and incalculable. He was like a firecracker that could go off any minute. 

“What do you plan to gain from this Porter? By killing me and Raelle then framing your brother”

“He is not my brother. He has never been my brother. I love you Scylla and you just look right through me. You don’t even see me”

“I do see you Porter. I care about you. You’re my partner. We have worked together for the last 5 years”

Porter shook his head “No No, YOU’RE LYING”

Scylla now had a plan in her head but it was just a matter of executing it and hoping it worked. She took a step towards Porter just as he backhanded her across the face with his gun. She hit the ground, blood splattering across the cabin floor. Raelle screamed for “SCYLLA” in the background as the brunette reached around to the knife in her boot slowly sliding it out and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 

1, 2, 3, Scylla launched at Porter and drove her knife straight into his leg.

He let out an animalistic cry, dropping to the ground with the gun still tightly in his hand. 

Scylla swiftly kicked his hand sending the gun flying followed by a knee to his temple forcing him back onto a glass table that smashed under his weight 

Scylla ran over to grab the gun but Porter jumped on the brunettes back, driving her body into the cabin floor with a thud. 

Raelle rushed over, hands tied and started kicking into Porter, but he grabbed her foot and shoved her backwards till she hit the floor 

Scylla got an elbow to Porters face, then rolled him over while they wrestled on the ground for the gun. 

“RAELLE RUN” Scylla screamed

Raelle paused, torn between helping Scylla or doing as she says and getting out of there

“GO NOW” Scylla screamed again

Raelle bolted for the door, opened it and ran out just as Porter cracked Scylla across the face with a small log of wood from the fireplace stack

Porter struggled to his feet and pulled out the bloody knife from his leg. He let out a high-pitched groan, blood gushing out of his leg as he hobbled after Raelle. Outside the cabin, the icy grey sky restlessly grumbled as the torrential rain came down 

Scylla slowly got to her feet after a fair whack to her face and ran after Porter, desperate to stop him from getting anywhere near Raelle. She launched her full body weight onto his back, pulling him to the ground, her vice grip around his ankles. He turned and kicked her in the face, bloodying her nose. 

Drenched in rain and mud Porter climbed on top of the brunette and clamped his hands around her neck strangling her. Scyllas eyes grew wide, clawing at his hands, her heart beating quickly as she gasped for air 

She could feel her life flash before her eyes and the final image she would see, would be Porter, a madman looking down at her. She could feel her life slowly leave her when the chilling sound of a gun firing echoed the skies.  
Scylla felt Porters hands around her neck go limp as she pushed his dead weight off her and onto the ground beside her 

Scylla looked up to see where the shot came from and she saw Izadora standing there, gun in hand still pointing at the spot Porter was only seconds ago

Scylla held her throat and exhaled her breath, relieved to see her partner, but her mind went straight to Raelle

“RAELLE”

Scylla got to her feet screaming for Raelle, her face dripping with blood, cold rain and mud. She looked around panicking until she saw her.

“SCYLLA”

“RAELLE”

Raelle came running towards Scylla as they crashed together in a desperate embrace and collapsing to the ground. Scylla held Raelle tight as she sobbed into her chest. 

*******

The rain had stopped and a white sheet was thrown over the body. The forensic team and coroner worked the scene as Scylla briefed Izadora and Alder about what had happened. Scylla was a mess, caked in mud and dry blood and in serious need of a shower. She looked over towards Raelle who was sitting in the back of an ambulance waiting to be taken back to SALEM. 

Scylla got checked over by a medic, luckily her nose wasn’t broken and she headed over to check on Raelle

Raelle was also lucky having got away with only a small cut to her upper lip which was taken care of by two butterfly band aids and exhaustion

Scylla approached Raelle, carrying the weight of guilt on her shoulders because of what just unfolded “Hey” 

Raelle gave a half smile “Hey”

Scylla looked at the blonde checking for any serious injuries “Raelle, are you ok?”

“Yeah, just a few scratches and bruises. I’ll live”

“Raelle”

Raelle cut her off “Look Scyl, I know we need to talk and we will but right now I just need time to process everything. What happened was a lot. You being a cop is a lot”

Scyllas heart sunk “I understand. Scylla paused afraid to look Raelle in the eye. “I am glad you’re ok Raelle. Let me know when you’re ready to talk, I’ll wait”

“I will Scyl. I am glad you’re ok too”

Scylla could feel the tears on the way, she cleared her throat “The ambulance is going to take you back, I need to go back to the precinct for a debrief”

Raelle nodded “Ok, thank you. I’ll be in touch Scyl”

Scylla nodded and left to head back to the precinct

*******

It had been three days since the Porter ordeal and Scylla was struggling. After she agreed to give Raelle time to process everything, she couldn’t stop thinking about her. She tried throwing herself into her work by starting early and finishing late just so she would have less time to think about the blonde but it didn’t work. Raelle entered her mind more times than she could count and the fear of losing her growing stronger by the day. 

On the third day, Scylla finally heard from Raelle, inviting her over for “the talk”. 

Scylla knocked on Raelles door and followed her through the hallway into the main lounge area. Scylla could see how nervous the blonde was by the way she was fidgeting with her hands and avoiding eye contact. If Raelle was nervous, it was nothing compared to what Scylla was feeling

Scyllas hands were trembling and there was an awkward silence, neither of them knowing who should speak first. 

Scylla swallowed thickly and broke the silence “I decided to be a cop because my dad was a cop. He was a detective for over 10 years and he loved it. When I met you, I was working a case, this case, undercover at Bellweather hospital. I had no intention of keeping secrets from you or lying to you but things escalated quickly, not just with the case, but with you”

Raelle shifted her eyes, now focused on Scylla

Scylla took a step towards Raelle “When I was old enough to understand and see the love my parents shared for each other, I decided I wanted that too one day and that the person I choose to love, will be my forever. When they died, it broke me. I was lost and I promised myself that I never wanted to feel that kind of pain again. So, I shut down that part of myself because it was easier than dealing with the pain. My life became about me existing, but not actually living"

Raelle stood silent, taking in everything Scylla was saying word for word

Scyllas eyes brimmed with tears "Ever since I met you, every instance, every moment has been about you. You don't just matter to me Raelle, you're everything to me"

Raelles eyes welled but she remained silent 

Scylla took another step forward "I'm in love with you Raelle. Head over heels. There are so many reasons why I love you. I love the way you care so much about people, I love how you put your heart and soul into your job, I love that it takes you an hour-and-a-half to order a sandwich, I love that after I spend time with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night."

Scyllas resolve broke, the tears finally releasing "You're the most real thing I've felt in a long time and I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want to lose you Raelle” 

Raelles bottom lip quivered, silent pearl-shaped tears rolled down her cheeks

“Say something Raelle”

Raelle stood still in hesitation, with wet eyes staring at Scylla, then after a beat, to Scyllas surprise, Raelle grabbed her face with both hands as her lips collapsed into Scyllas as she let out a racking sob. Their tears blended with their lips, their kiss bursting with love. It was messy, it was magical. 

Raelle pulled away and placed her forehead against Scyllas and whispered “I love too Scyl”


	10. Love Wins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone
> 
> I had so much fun writing this and I appreciate all the kudos and comments that were given. This is a final short chapter but a necessary one.. Enjoy 🙂🙂

1 YEAR LATER

Scyllas eyes flickered opened, instantly feeling the warmth of her girlfriends loving lips nipping at her ear and a soft hand cupping her breast. 

"hmm Morning Rae"

"Morning Scyl"

Scylla rolled over to be met by warm lips encapturing hers in a searing kiss. Raelle shifed to be on top as her hand fondled under the brunettes shirt 

"Someone woke up ready"

Raelle moved to place soft kisses along her girlfriends neck, moving down to her collarbone "Can't help it when I wake up to a beautiful girl in my bed"

Raelle kissed Scylla again, her tongue teasingly tracing the brunettes bottom lip, causing Scylla to deepen the kiss

"Raelle, we need to get up and get ready. I'm not going to be late for my own award ceremony"

Raelle continued kissing Scylla, down her neck and moving down her body. She lifted her girlfriends top up and kissed along her tummy

Scyllas breath hitched and her back arched in response to Raelles warm tongue gliding along her skin

"Raelle, stop. We don't have time for what you have in mind"

Raelle looked up at Scylla, still kissing her tummy "I can be quick"

"Raelle, when have you ever been quick?"

Raelle moved back up to Scylla lips and kissed them again "Um, remember the time you showed up at my work and shoved me against the wall. That was quick"

"That was you, not me. I'm saying when have you ever been quick with me"

In between kisses "Cant help it. You're gorgeous. I like to take my time and appreciate beauty"

Raelle stopped and looked down into blue eyes "I love you"

"I love you too"

Scylla looked up into loving green eyes and thought fuck it, and pulled Raelle down into a searing kiss.

******

They were now running late. 

"HURRY UP LADIES" Anacostia barked in a rather loud voice as she waited for them in the lounge

Raelle stuck her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth to look at Scylla strangely who was in the middle of putting on her boots. Scylla looked back knowing exactly what her girlfriend was thinking "She is an ex army drill sargent remember" 

Raelle nodded and smiled "Oh yeah right, forgot about that"

After Anacostia forcibly pushed them out the door and drove through the streets of Salem at what Scylla advised was an unacceptable speed, they arrived at the ceremony with time to spare. 

Scylla joined her fellow collegegues who were also being honoured in excellence, while Anacostia and Raelle found their seats. 

Scylla stood tall in her crisp tailored blue police blazer and black pants waiting for her name to be called. She glanced over to Raelle who mouthed "I love you" at which Scylla returned.

Scylla felt a few different emotions while she stood there waiting for her name to be called. She felt sad that her parents weren't there to see her, but looking at Anacostia, the closest thing to a parent she has ever had and Raelle, the love of her life, she felt at peace with it all

Scylla was next, she drew in a breath as her name was called. She walked onto the stage and accepted her plaque, shook the man's hand while a photo was taken and walked off the other end giggling at Raelle and Anacostias very loud clapping and whistling

******

After the ceremony they settled on drinks and light refreshments where Raelle chose a moment to steal Scylla away. They walked out onto the terrace and were met with a breathtaking velvety black skyline. that had a tinge of purple billowing through the clouds

Scylla looked out over the town "Wow, this is so beautiful. Sometimes we don't appreciate the beauty in things until we look at them through a different lens" 

Raelle placed her arms around Scyllas waist, resting her chin on her shoulder "Youre beautiful no matter what lens I look through"

Scylla smiled "Always the charmer Collar"

Raelle pulled her arms from Scyllas waist and spun her around so they were facing each other. She reached down and took Scyllas hands in her own

"Scyl, I'm so proud of you. Everything you have been through and where you are now is inspiring. When my mum died I was the same as you. I shut a part of myself down but when I met you, all I wanted to do was open that part up again. I knew I loved you the minute you shut me down at the Red fairy that night"

Scylla laughed "You were persistent"

"You were worth fighting for. You're the love of my life. My forever"

Scyllas eyes welled and her heart skipped a beat at the realisation of what Raelle was about to do

Raelle pulled a ring out of her pocket and held it in front of her, ready to place it on her girlfriends finger

"Marry me Scyl. This ring was your mother's. Anacostia gave it to me 3 months ago. She knew I would ask you and well here we are. I love you with my whole heart Scylla Ramshorn. Be mine forever"

Scyllas tears rolled down her cheeks, overwhelming emotion washing over her

"I had this whole proposal planned out. I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted the flowers to be blooming, the birds to be chirping and the sun to be high in the sky. But then i realised, it wouldn't matter where we were, what mattered was us. You and me"

Scyllas hand was shaking as Raelle held it waiting for an answer "Yes, yes of course I'll marry you"

Raelle picked Scylla up and spun her around "were getting married Scyl"

Scylla laughed tapping at her shoulder "Rae, put me down"

Raelle put Scylla down and pulled her in for a tender kiss 

"Um, Rae"

"Yeah Scyl"

"Are you going to put the ring on my finger?"

"Oh shit, of course, sorry Scyl"

Raelle slipped the ring on Scyllas finger and it fit perfectly

"I love you Scyl"

"I love you Rae"

Scyllas light within her had been dimmed for a long time and tonight, it was shining brighter than ever

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment or kudo. Happy to hear out any constructive criticism. Just be kind about it :-)


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